


Harry Potter and The Gift of Aphrodite

by Grim_T_Reaper



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 69 (Sex Position), Anal Play, Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, Bonding, Breast Fucking, Breastfeeding, Come Sharing, Come Swallowing, Cowgirl Position, Cunnilingus, Daisy Chaining, Doggy Style, F/F, F/M, Face-Sitting, First Time, Fivesome - F/F/F/F/M, Food Sex, Forced Cohabitation, Forced Relationship, Foreskin Play, Foursome - F/F/F/M, Friends to Lovers, Lactation, Light Bondage, Light Dom/sub, Magical Bond, Manipulative Albus Dumbledore, Missionary Position, Multi, Mutual Masturbation, Not Canon Compliant - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Not Canon Compliant - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Nudity, Other, Parseltongue Kink, Porn With Plot, Prostate Massage, Public Nudity, Rape/Non-con Elements, Rimming, Sixsome - F/F/F/F/F/M, Skinny Dipping, Slow To Update, Smut, Sumata, Tags May Change, Threesome - F/F/F, Threesome - F/F/M, Underage Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-01-05 02:33:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 11
Words: 130,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21206021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grim_T_Reaper/pseuds/Grim_T_Reaper
Summary: Inspired by (and loosely based on) Dragon-Raptor's "Harry Potter and The Curse's Cure"A week before the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament, Harry and Hermione become victims of a Curse thanks to Draco Malfoy, and are quickly forced learn to live with it's after effects,  and each other, while relying on each other, and others who are willing to help them, to survive, as while there is a cure, it is far worse than the curse. But they must also face the Triwizard and it's aftermath, and certain individuals, both inside and outside of Hogwarts, who have their own agendas.





	1. Cursed

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Harry Potter and The Curse's Cure](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/530201) by Dragon-Raptor. 

> This story is loosely based on the amazing story "Harry Potter and The Curse's Cure" by the talented Dragon-Raptor, it can be found over on FF.net and hpfanficarchive, and it is one of the best Harry/Harem fics i've ever read, but sadly has not been updated in 5 years. If you haven't read it yet (why not?!) then go read it. This story will most likely be a slow-to-update fic, but i will try to write the chapters in batches then post, but don't be surprised if the updates slow down, though I will try to avoid that as much as I can. I'm not going to stick to an update schedule, as past experience has taught me I can't stick to them; Writers block and other issues, such as real life, can, may, and probably will get in the way. I am planning to take it beyond GoF into OoTP, or i may decide to screw with the events of the canon timeline a bit.

**Harry Potter and The Gift of Aphrodite **

** Chapter 1: Cursed. **

_ Thursday, _ _ Nov__ember 1__7__t__h _ _ , 1994 _

Harry James Potter and his best friend, Hermione Jean Granger were just on their way to the Great Hall for dinner, when they heard footsteps behind them, three pairs. Harry wasn’t sure who it was, but he really didn’t care, they’d just had a tiring lesson in double Defense, and he was hungry. 

“Hey! Cheater!” Draco’s voice rang out. Harry rolled his eyes. _ Of course, _ it was Draco. Who else would it be? 

“What do you want Malfoy? Can't you see my friend and I have better things to do?” 

“I just wanted to let you know that everyone is supporting the _ TRUE _ Hogwarts Champion, and we have no time or tolerance for cheats.” 

“Oh, _ THAT’S _ rich. Considering what the Slytherin Quidditch team does half the time they’re on the pitch.” Harry retorted. “Oh, and for your information, I _ DID NOT _ put my name in that fucking Goblet! Someone else did! Someone who actually wants me dead, so that narrows down the list of suspects to round about 25% of the student body, and maybe 10% of the staff, and a good portion of the _ filth _ that pretends to be nobility while pandering to the whims of a nutcase.” 

Draco scowled, his face turning red, recognizing the slight against his family for what it was, but then he smirked. “Tell me Potter, how does it feel to be hated and reviled by the entire school for the second time in as many years? First the Heir of Slytherin, now this. At least this time people actually know for sure it was you!” 

“No they don’t!” Hermione shot back, her patience rapidly vanishing. “It could have been _ anyone _ who put that piece of parchment in the Goblet! It could have been Snape, it could have been one of the Seventh Year Slytherins! Hell, it could even have been Igor Karkaroff! He was a former Death Eater after all!” 

“Wait, he was?” Harry asked, turning to look at Hermione, Draco, Crabbe and Goyle seemed just as confused. 

“Yeah, I read about him while reading up about the last war, apparently, he bargained for leniency by naming several other Death Eaters and turning them in, including several who were unknown to the Ministry at the time.” she replied. 

Draco scowled. “Then he’s a traitor to the Dark Lord! So why would he put Potter’s name in the Goblet then Mudblood? Answer that if you’re so smart!” 

“Don’t you _dare _call her that! _Ferret.” _Harry snapped, raising his wand. 

Draco scowled again, his face once again turning red with rage as Crabbe and Goyle raised their own wands. 

“I’ll call her whatever I _ want _ to, Scarhead! Her kind are good for only one thing: Breeding stock for their betters! At least their Half-Blood children have some worth.” then he looked at Harry with an expression of pure disdain “...Well... _ some _ less than others.” 

Harry grit his teeth as he felt his rage building. Insults against himself he could handle, he’d been dealing with that since he could understand the spoken word, but such insults against Hermione? His best female friend who had stuck by him not only through his second year and the Heir of Slytherin debacle, but she had also been by his side these last two weeks, and had been his rock through pretty much everything. No, insults against her he would not let stand. 

“By the way, how do you like the badges? I made them myself.” Draco said, smirking as he gestured to small badges that he and his lackeys were wearing, each was the size of a Galleon coin, was bright red and flashed the words _ “Potter Stinks!” _ in big white letters, then Draco tapped it with a finger, and the words changed to _ “Support Cedric Diggory! The True Hogwarts Champion!” _

_ “ _Cute.” Harry deadpanned. 

“Glad you like them!” Draco said, patronizingly. “I’ve been handing them out to all the students, even the _ Gryffindors _ have been buying them!” he taunted with malicious glee. 

Harry scowled ‘_ So much for House Unity...Then again, Second Year should have taught me that.’ _he thought. 

In truth, he _ had _ seen the badges before now, worn by several students, but he’d never been able to get a good look at them, as when said students had noticed him looking their way, they had promptly hid the badges, at least in the case of the Gryffindors. 

The only one who he hadn’t seen wearing a badge, and the only one who had openly said they believed him, was Hermione, which he was immensely grateful for. 

For her part, Hermione scowled as she saw the badges the three Slytherins were wearing, she’d wondered about those, as she’d seen them being worn as well, by students from all four houses. She'd been livid when, just the other day, she’d been in the Library waiting for her two other friends, Susan Bones of Hufflepuff, and Daphne Greengrass of Slytherin, to join her for a study session, only to spring to her feet and glare at the two of them as they walked into the Library with the badges on full display, with the words _ ‘Potter Stinks!’ _ on Daphne’s, and _ ‘Support Cedric!’ _ on Susan’s. 

She had demanded that they remove the badges immediately if they valued her friendship and wanted to keep it. 

They had both done so, both apologizing, and Daphne even told her that, as a Slytherin, she was _ expected _ to wear one, and if she was seen without it, the other Slytherins, particularly Malfoy and his ilk, would start harassing her, and questioning her loyalties. Susan’s excuse was that, as a fellow Hufflepuff, she had to show support for Cedric, and if the others saw her without her badge, they would think her disloyal. And when both girls said they also believed that Harry did not enter his name, did not cheat his way in, Hermione eventually decided to believe them. 

She'd gotten to know the two of them during her third year, during the brief separation from Harry and Ron that had been caused by the incident with Harry’s Firebolt, which looking back, had been entirely Ron’s fault. Her actions, though un-necessary, had been justified at the time, but Ron being Ron, had blown up in her face, and wound up Harry as well, though he’d eventually come to his senses. Despite that, she had remained friends with the two girls, and regularly spent time with them. 

“I’ll prove I didn’t do it. And soon. Then I'll make you _ eat _ those damn badges Malfoy!” Harry growled, then he turned to Hermione. “Come on Hermione, let’s get to dinner. We don’t need to bother with ‘Daddy’s Boy’ here anymore.” 

“You dare!” Draco snarled, raising his wand again, then he smirked cruelly. “At least I _ have _ a father! _ And _ a mother!” 

“A mother and father who spent all of the last war on their knees in front of Voldemort.” Hermione spat, “So much for ‘_Proud Nobility’ _ , I wonder, who’s dick did your mum suck more Malfoy? Your dad’s or Voldemort’s?” then Hermione stopped, her eyes widening at what she’d just said, as she realized how much worse she’d just made things. Harry was looking at her with surprise, and some degree of admiration now. ‘_Damn Hermione, didn’t think you had it in you!’ _

Now Draco was ** _ PISSED! _ ** His face turned an unhealthy, almost Weasley shade of red, his lips curled back in a feral snarl, and his eyes filled with utter _hatred. _

“The only whore here,_ MUDBLOOD_, is _YOU! _The _ONLY_ thing that mouth of yours is good for and should ever be _used _for is sucking the dicks of your _BETTERS _and_ SWALLOWING THEIR CUM! _After all, that’s the ONLY way your kind make it anywhere in _OUR_ World! You want to be part of our Society so badly? Fine then, but you better get used to giving head Granger, because that’s _EXACTLY WHAT YOU’LL BE DOING! FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!” _

And with that, his wand arm came up, along with Crabbe and Goyle's wands. 

-=-=-=- 

Harry groaned as his eyes fluttered open, and he took in his surroundings. He was in the hospital wing. Again. 

_ ‘Damn it.’ _ He thought, _ ‘What was it this time? Oh yeah…’ _

Then he remembered. 

Draco. 

Harry briefly wondered why he hadn’t just pushed her out of the way and let the spell fly past him, he was sure Hermione was going to grill him on that point when she came to see him. 

Fumbling for his glasses, he found them, along with his wand, on the bedside table, after slipping them on, he checked his watch. 8:45pm. 

8:45pm?! 

Draco had ambushed them on the third floor just before dinner as the two of them were making their way down to dinner, at nearly 6pm, he’d been out for three hours! He’d completely missed dinner, and there was very little chance of them getting anything now, not to mention it was almost curfew. 

“Great…” he muttered. 

“Harry…?” came a muttered, soft inquiry from his left, he turned to look, spotting his bushy haired, brown-eyed best friend, well, best female friend. The one who he had tried to shield from Malfoy’s curse. 

“Hermione? You ok?” he asked. 

“Ugh, yeah, just aching a little, little tired and a bit hungry.” She replied as she sat up, rubbing her eyes and looking at him worriedly. 

Harry frowned as he also sat up, now that she mentioned it, he was feeling a little hazy, and a bit peckish. 

“Harry?” 

“Hmm?” 

Harry looked at her again, seeing the frown as she looked at him, and he realized she looked angry. 

_ ‘Oh uh, Duck and Cover Potter…’ _ he thought, unable to keep the slight smirk off his face, unfortunately, Hermione saw it, and she scowled. 

“You think this is funny? Harry James Potter! What the _BLOODY _ _ HELL _ were you _ THINKING?! _ Why didn’t you use a Shield charm?!” Hermione scolded, her voice getting progressively louder, until the last few words were almost a yell. 

“Uh, well, we haven’t covered them yet.” He replied sheepishly, wondering how she could have forgotten that he didn’t know it. 

Then he remembered her habit of reading above their current year reading material. 

“What about you? I’m sure you’ve learned how to do it.” He replied. She huffed and folded her arms. 

“Of course I have. I was about to, until _ someone _ decided to play ‘Human Shield!’” 

“A-hem.” Came the sound of someone clearing their throat. 

Together, the two of them turned to look towards Pomfrey’s office as the school matron stepped out, wand in hand. 

“Well, I’m glad to see you two are finally awake. You’ve both been out for a couple of hours now.” The nurse said with a soft relieved smile. 

“Hours?! What time is it? How long have we been out?!” Hermione asked. 

“Uh, it’s almost 9? We got hit just before dinner.” Harry said, wincing slightly as he saw panic spread across Hermione’s face. 

“Three hours?! We’ve been out for nearly 3 hours! It’s almost curfew, we’ll never make it back to the dorm in time!” she moaned, not looking forward to getting caught out. 

“Oh, you two aren’t going anywhere tonight; I want to keep you in for observation.” Pomfrey commented, as she moved to a side table and picked up a couple of duffel bags. 

“I had two House Elves collect your things; there are fresh clothes, both for tonight and tomorrow for each of you, and your respective necessities.” 

Hermione accepted one of the duffel bags and opened it, looking inside to see her night gown, some underwear and her regular day clothes, as well as her tooth brush, hair brush, shampoo and some soap. 

“What about our homework?” Hermione asked. “We’ve got work for History of Magic, Charms and Potions to hand in tomorrow!” 

“Do not worry Miss Granger, I’ve spoken to Professor Flitwick, and he has agreed to waive your assignment deadline until next week. That should give you enough time to finish. I tried to make the same arrangement with Professor Snape, but…well, you know what he is like.” Pomfrey snorted. 

Hermione nodded, sighing. 

“Besides, I’m almost done with most of mine, and I’m sure you are too.” Harry replied, flashing her a smile. Despite herself, Hermione found herself smiling back at him. They had been close over the years, it had really picked up following her petrifaction in Second Year, and her helping him rescue Sirius, and, more recently, this whole mess with the damned Triwizard Tournament, and that she had been the only one who hadn’t believed that he’d cheated his way in, at first at least, it hadn’t taken them long to get Neville to believe them. 

“Who found us?” Hermione asked. Pomfrey paused. 

“I believe it was Mister Longbottom and Miss Abbot who found you.” 

Hermione nodded, making a mental note to thank them, and get her hands on Draco, and wring his neck. They also needed to find out what he’d hit them with, and where he’d got the spell from. 

“Now, how are you two feeling? My diagnostic spells haven’t shown anything nefarious, other than slightly elevated levels of testosterone in both of you, and slightly elevated Progesterone levels in you Miss Granger and slightly elevated levels of Melatonin and Ghrelin, those are hormones that control your tiredness and appetite, Mister Potter.” Pomfrey elaborated, when she noticed Harry’s confused look. 

“Wait, you said that, uh, we _ both _ have elevated testosterone levels, but…uhm, Hermione is a girl…” he said awkwardly, scratching at the back of his head as he felt his face heat up with embarrassment. 

Hermione rolled her eyes and smiled. “Women have testosterone too Harry, just not as much, but it’s still important for us. As to why we’re feeling hungry, well, we _ have _ missed dinner. I doubt there’s anything left, what doesn’t get eaten by the students and staff I think the Elves eat.” 

“I thought about that, and planned ahead.” Pomfrey said as she turned and headed into her office, then returned, floating two table trays, on which were a couple of plates with some roast lamb and vegetables, and a pitcher of water and two glasses. 

“When you were found and brought here, I asked a couple of the elves to put together some servings for the both of you, then I put warming and stasis charms on them. Eat up. I’ll check up on you when you’re done.” 

At that point, the door opened, and Ron, Neville, Hannah, Parvati and Lavender, Hermione’s Dorm mates, as well as Susan Bones and Daphne Greengrass, Hermione’s other two best friends, entered the hospital wing, along with Professor McGonagall, Professor Dumbledore and Professor Moody. 

“This isn’t a hotel!” Pomfrey protested the number of additional bodies in her domain, giving all of the students stern looks, it was, after all, close to curfew. 

“We won’t be long, just wanted to check up on them.” Neville said, giving the matron a sheepish look. 

“We’re fine Nev, a little hungry, a little tired, but otherwise ok. Whatever we were hit with doesn’t seem to have done much.” Harry reassured his friend. 

“I’ll be the judge of that.” Alastor Moody growled as he stepped forward, his magical blue eye roaming independently in its socket, moving back and forth over first Harry, then Hermione. 

Even after three months, it was still creepy to watch. 

“Hmm…there’s definitely an aura around you two, whatever that curse Malfoy hit you with was, it doesn’t seem to have reached full effect yet. We haven’t covered the Protego spell yet, have we? I guess that’ll be the subject of your next lesson in class, a bit earlier than I planned though.” He muttered the last bit to himself. 

“Well sir, uh, I DO know it…” Hermione said, cringing a little as both of Moody’s mismatched eyes fixed on her in sharp glare. 

“Then why didn’t you use it?” he growled. 

“Now Alastor.” Dumbledore protested, but Moody shot him down. 

“It’s a fair question Albus.” He growled, before looking back at Hermione. “Well?” 

“Uh, well, I didn’t really get the chance. Draco didn’t really give me much time, and he was too close, and before I could even raise my wand, _ someone—“ _ she sent a glare in the direction of Harry, who had the good sense to look sheepish “—decided to use a '_Human Shield _ _ ’ _charm!” She emphasized the last three words, making her disapproval clear. 

Moody snorted, his mouth turning up in a crooked, amused smile. 

“Not heard of that one.” Ron said, Harry tried desperately not to roll his eyes or slap his face with his palm. Moody however, had no such restraint. 

“That’s because there isn’t such a charm. She’s saying that Potter used _ himself _ as a shield. That was pretty stupid of you Potter, for two reasons: A, it clearly didn’t work, and B, that spell could have been anything. We’ll definitely be giving all of you a crash course in the shield charm during your next few lessons.” 

“Wait, you already know it was Draco?” Harry asked. They all nodded. 

“Yeah, smarmy little git was bragging at dinner, quiet loudly, about putting ‘Potter and his Mudblood in their places’, then your friends Longbottom and Abbot here came into the great hall and came straight for Minerva and Poppy here, and told us they’d found you out cold in a corridor on the Third Floor.” Moody growled. 

“Unfortunately, we have not been able to get anything out of him. He claims it was just a harmless prank. But I disagreed. Harmless pranks usually don’t leave their victims unconscious for several hours.” McGonagall spoke up as she too stepped forward. 

“Did you hear what Mister Malfoy said when he cast the curse?” they shook their heads, Hermione spoke up. 

“Uh, no, there was too much going on, too much commotion, what with his shadows Crabbe and Goyle following him.” Then she looked at Daphne, giving her a slight smile, “Good thing you weren’t there, you might have had to public ally take sides, and I know you don’t want to do that just yet.” 

“I wish I had been there, I could have helped you guys.” The blonde Slytherin said, ignoring the suspicious, dirty look Ron was giving her. He looked like he wanted to say something, but wisely kept his mouth shut. 

“I checked his wand, but it seems he’d already cast more than 10 spells after he hit the two of you, since the check didn’t turn up anything.” Moody said. 

“I…could try asking him…” Daphne offered. 

“No.” Hermione said, then continued when her friend gave her a look. “If you start asking questions, he might get suspicious.” Hermione then frowned as she noticed the sour look Ron was giving Daphne. His blind mistrust of anything even remotely Slytherin was starting to annoy her. She decided she would have to have words with him. 

She learned during the weeks she’d gotten to know the two girls that the Ice Queen persona that Daphne portrayed was just a front, to protect herself and her younger sister, Astoria, who had just entered her second year. 

Susan on the other hand, was the quant-essential Hufflepuff; 100% loyal to her friends, and fiercely dedicated to honor and truth, and she had a very acute sense of right and wrong, and a very strong work ethic, thanks to her aunt, Amelia Bones. 

“We will keep questioning Mister Malfoy, see if we can determine anything.” Dumbledore said, as he looked at each of them, his eyes sparkling. “In the meantime, it is past curfew, and we all need to get some sleep. Minerva and I will escort our guests back to their respective common rooms, Miss Granger, Mister Potter, I leave you in Poppy’s capable hands, we’ll see you tomorrow. Good night, Poppy, please let us know of any developments.” And with that, he turned to leave, ushering the students out, all of them saying good night, though Ron shot Daphne another suspicious look, which she returned with a cold stare. 

Once they were gone, Hermione sighed as she continued eating her meal. “I hate that he kept doing that.” She complained. 

“What?” harry asked. 

“He kept giving Daphne funny looks. It’s really annoying, and I know Daphne doesn’t like it either, neither does Susan. Though to be honest, considering the way he’s been around you the past couple of weeks, he probably only came because Neville made him.” 

“Yeah, you’re probably right. I’ll have a word with him tomorrow about it, if he either comes by, or we get out of here.” 

Hermione nodded. 

Nearly half an hour later they’d finished their respective meals, and decided to try and get some of their homework finished, with Hermione’s help, Harry managed to get everything finished pretty quickly. 

After that, Pomfrey told them that the en-suite bathroom was available for them if they wanted to take a shower before bed, and that there were fresh towels waiting in the bathroom. 

Harry let Hermione go first as he decided to sit and think, and let his late dinner settle a bit. 

This day had been quite eventful, and he was a little annoyed that Ron really hadn’t said anything to him, the idiot was still blanking him over that damn Goblet, he was even still wearing one of those fucking badges. How McGonagall or Dumbledore hadn’t called him out on it, or any other student for that matter, he didn’t know, maybe he’d ask McGonagall about it. 

Eventually, Hermione came out of the bathroom wrapped in a nice fluffy looking towel, her wet hair clinging to her head and back as she smiled at him, looking refreshed, though she did look a little off put. 

“Shower’s all yours Harry.” She said as she stepped behind a privacy screen Pomfrey had put up between their beds before she’d left after giving them a final check, though apparently their readings hadn’t changed much, for better or worse. 

“Thanks. You ok?” he asked as he stepped towards the bathroom. 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She replied, though there was something in her tone that he didn’t quite believe. 

-=-=-=- 

Hermione was concerned, she’d eaten a full meal, and yet, she still felt hungry, her stomach felt full, but she still felt hungry, and she seemed even more tired than before, though she chocked that one up to actual exhaustion, good thing they were about to get some sleep then. 

When Harry emerged from the bathroom, towel wrapped around his waist, she got her first clear look at his muscled body. He didn’t have a Schwarzenegger-type build to him, which, in her adolescent mind, she’d privately wondered about, given how active he was with Quidditch, but the sport had definitely kept him fit and in good shape. She also got a brief look at some scarring on his body, and she scowled, suspecting the Dursleys, she’d have to try and ask him about it some time. 

And if she was honest with herself, despite the scarring, she’d liked what she’d seen. She let out a light, quiet gasp as she felt her breasts start to tingle, and her nipples start to harden as she thought about his half naked body. Blushing furiously, she clamped down on her thoughts and libido. This was _ Harry _, her best male friend…who she’d had a minor crush on ever since he’d saved her that day in the bathroom from that Mountain Troll. 

And, for a brief moment, she wondered what his reaction would have been if she’d walked out of that bathroom with the towel ‘round her waist, instead of her chest. Her eyes widened and she felt her face flush, and her body suddenly tingle with warmth of a different kind, as she imagined Harry ogling her breasts, even if she wasn’t as impressive as Susan or Daphne, or Parvati or Lavender. 

_ ‘What the bloody hell is wrong with me?!’ _ she thought._‘That’s it Granger, definitely bed time for you.’ _

A few minutes later, Harry stepped round the divider, and smiled at her as she rose from the bed and moved to hug him good night, smiling. 

“Good night Harry.” She said quietly, wrapping her arms round him in a tight quick hug. 

The moment their bodies pressed together however, she ‘felt’ something inside her ‘click’, as if something had just been triggered. Her eyes widened as a surge of arousal shot through her, starting between her legs and spreading out. She felt her breasts firm up and swell a little, her nipples hardening fully to small points that she was_ certain _Harry could feel through the thin material of her nightie and his pajama top, since she wasn’t wearing a bra as their chests were pressed together. 

She also felt a surge of heat and moisture between her legs, and she knew that, if she allowed her fingers to go questing, they’d find not only her labia wet and dripping, but her clitoris hard and throbbing. She could practically feel it pushing through her lower lips and rubbing against the fresh pair of knickers she’d put on. 

She’d never been so horny in her life before. 

_ ‘Thank Merlin he can’t see my face…’ _ she thought, horrified. Then she felt him tense, as he hugged her, and buried his face in her neck and sucked in a sudden breath, getting a lung full of the shampoo scent she’d used. 

Then she felt it. And her eyes opened a little wider, and she felt him shiver. 

It was impossible to mistake it for anything other than what it was, as it was pressing into her lower belly, just above her mound. It was long, and it was _hard. _

_ ‘Oh my god…he’s so hard! I…I’ve never…he’s as horny as I am! What the _HELL’S_ going on?!’ _ she thought, as she pulled back and looked at him. His face was bright red with embarrassment, and he was looking anywhere but at her. 

“Er…good night Hermione…I’ll see you in the morning.” He said awkwardly as he quickly turned away, shooting her an apologetic look. 

“Um…yeah, good night, Harry.” She said awkwardly as she climbed into bed, then Pomfrey came in and removed the divider, letting them know that if anything happened or if there were any problems, there were monitoring charms keyed to alarm charms in her room where she’d be, or they’d just have to call for her. 

As she closed her eyes and settled down and tried to sleep, several things occurred to her at once. A, she was extremely tired, B, she was more aroused than she could ever remember being, and C, she was still hungry. 

Harry quickly climbed into bed, feeling mortified. He couldn’t believe what had just happened. When he’d seen Hermione in nothing but that towel, he’d felt stirrings of an erection, which thankfully he’d been able to take care of in the shower, but the second they’d hugged, the stirrings had come back, skipped ignition, and gone straight to take off. 

And he _ knew _ she’d felt it. He wasn’t sure if she’d felt his nipples harden with arousal, but he’d definitely felt hers. 

_ ‘Merlin…she’s really wound up, as much as I am…what the hell’s going on?’ _ he thought. 

Though he decided it could wait until the morning, hopefully he’d be able to sleep, and if not, he could try to take care of it, then sleep. Another thing occurred to him as he closed his eyes and tried to shut down his mind and think of something completely unsexy, like Filch. It didn’t work. And what he realized as he finally drifted off to sleep was… 

He was still hungry. 

-=-=-=- 

Albus Dumbledore sat in his quarters just off from his office, considering the events of the day. 

This curse that Draco had used was a problem, if Harry was rendered too weak to participate in the Tournament, then he ran the risk of being stripped of his magic, and that was something Dumbledore could not allow, he had a destiny to fulfil after all, and he couldn’t _ do _ that if he was a squib. Miss Granger’s perceived fate from the curse was unfortunate, but in the end, could be beneficial. The girl was far too free-spirited and free-thinking. While yes, she did have some-what of an over-zealous faith in authority figures when she first came to Hogwarts, that seemed to have been tempered over the last 2 years, and her over-reliance on books seemed to have also been tempered, but still, she was too great an influence on young Harry, he needed proper guidance. 

Try as he might, Albus could not fathom what the curse Malfoy had used was, he’d never heard of it being used. He’d heard of similar curses, one such curse made the victim so tired over a number of days that they eventually fell asleep and never woke up _'The Touch of Hypnos'_ he believed it was called, but he was certain that wasn't it, and curses that drove a person to such a frenzied state hunger that they resorted to eating raw meat, and eventually, anything living, and became nothing more than living inferi, but neither one of those curses shared the effects of the other. It was a conundrum. 

And if the curse was lifted from them both then, well, there were other options, like the Second Task...especially if she was made Mr Krum’s hostage instead of Mr Potter’s...he had to make sure that Harry’s relationship with the young Weasley boy did not suffer any irreparable damage, after all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to, please follow this [Link](https://discord.gg/EYPgtjt) to reach my Discord Server, if you want to come and chat :)


	2. The Day After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the kind responses to the last chapter. 2668 hits, 32 Kudos, 36 Bookmarks and 15 comments (though 7 of those are my replies :P) in only 5 days. I honestly wasn't expecting such positive responses, it's been over 10 years since I wrote any Harry Potter fanfiction, so i'm VERY rusty, and I haven't uploaded anything to my fanfiction account in 9 years.
> 
> I took the liberty of borrowing the concept of Bonding from fellow author FurySerenity, with his permission, after he directed me to the fic where he found it, and I decided to use it as it seemed to fit perfectly with the theme of what i have planned for the overall premise of this fic, i might make one or two adjustments though, but not much.

** Harry Potter and The Gift of Aphrodite **

** Chapter 2: The Day After **

** _ Following _ ** ** _ morning, _ ** ** _ Friday November 18th. _ **

** _ Hospital Wing. _ **

When Harry awoke the next morning, he felt horrible. 

He wasn’t sure how to describe how he felt, other than ‘completely drained’. His head was foggy and felt heavy, his limbs felt heavy, and moving was an effort. Like he hadn’t slept at _ all. _ But he clearly had, he even remembered the dream he’d had, it had been a nice dream, where Sirius had shown up on Buckbeak, and had taken him away from the Dursleys, to the family home of the Blacks. 

At one point, he’d woken up, only briefly, to discover that he was still tired and still felt hungry, hungrier than he had earlier, he hadn’t been able to check his watch, so he had no idea what time it had been, and at first, he wasn’t sure what had woken him, until he’d heard it. 

A faint, very faint, almost inaudible gasp followed by a slight whimper, followed by something that at first, he hadn’t been able to identify, coming from Hermione’s bed. He’d rolled his head to the side and tried to look, doing his best to both keep quiet and ignore the raging erection that sprung to life the instant he realized what the faint, rhythmic squelching sound was. Though he couldn’t make anything out beyond a black form lying on the bed next to his, the sudden rise in the sheets told him that Hermione had her knees bent, the gasps and whimpers told him she was wide awake, and the wet-sounding noises told him _ exactly _ what she was doing. 

_ ‘Oh my god she’s…I shouldn’t be listening to this__! _ _ …this is private for her, I shouldn’t, damn it! Look away Potter!’ _ he raged at himself, trying desperately to shut his mind back down and not think about his best female friend desperately_ masturbat__ing_ _l__ess than f__ive __f__ee__t __away __from him! _

Or at least trying to, if the groans, growls and huffs that he heard were any indication. Whatever she was doing it clearly wasn’t working. 

“Ugh! Come on! You god damn…! This is the third time in an hour! Just…go down already! _ Fucking clit! _ Fucking fanny! Why won’t you stay dry? ! I’m going to fucking _ MURDER _Draco!” he heard her growl in frustration, a growl that became a whine of frustration and despair, followed by several squelches that sounded rather forceful. 

His last thoughts as he’d once again drifted off, barely noticing his own erection which stood at a perfect right angle to his body, were: 

_ ‘Wish…I…could…help…’ _

Now, as he tried to roll over onto his side and sit himself up, ignoring the erection he still seemed to have, though he hadn’t tried to take care of it as Hermione had, he rested his head in one hand while supporting himself with the other, then looked down at his watch. 

7am. They had an hour ‘til breakfast in the Great Hall, though, with the way he was feeling, he doubted he’d make it down there. A shame really, considering he was _starving! _

He blinked in confusion. He was_ hungry,_ almost ravenously so, but that didn’t make sense, he’d eaten a full meal the previous night, while yes, he should be hungry, he shouldn’t feel like he hadn’t eaten since lunch the day before. 

The pressure in his bladder and lower intestines clearly disagreed with the amount of hunger he was feeling. 

_ ‘Is that what Malfoy wanted to do? Turn us into _ _ horny _ _ , sleep-deprived cannibals?’ _ he thought. 

Reaching for his glasses, he slipped them on, then looked up at Hermione. He took a moment to regard her sleeping form, her arms were out to the side, and her head was turned towards him, eyes closed and mouth slightly open as she gently snored. Her covered chest rising and falling steadily, and as his eyes moved down, he saw that, under the covers, her legs were spread wide, and he could only see her right arm and hand, for a moment, he idly wondered where the other was, and quickly derailed that thought train. 

_ ‘She’s…wow…she’s actually quite beautiful… _ _ can’t believe I didn’t really notice before…’ _ he thought. 

He could also see the dark rings under her eyes, and he wondered if he had the same, her hair was also a mess, and he raked a hand through his own. He stood and almost fell back on the bed, he was so tired. 

_ ‘I’m gonna kill Malfoy.’ _ He mentally swore. 

A sudden inhale drew his attention to Hermione as she turned her head, yawned then started to rub her face with her hands. 

-=-=-=- 

Hermione felt awful. She was exhausted, she felt like she hadn’t slept all night, the 45 minutes she’d spent trying desperately to get her raging libido under some semblance of control, after waking up suddenly around 2am, had not helped. She’d woken up suddenly to find her knickers completely soaked through, it had been so bad that she had been forced to remove them, as she hadn’t had the energy or mental awareness to cast a few cleaning charms. So she’d laid there, her knickers discarded, knees bent and legs spread, her nightie bunched up around her waist, as she’d tried for nearly an hour, through three orgasms, to get her almost painfully erect clitoris and soaking fanny to calm down. 

It had been so wet she’d been amazed, she couldn’t remember being this wet, the patch of hair that covered her vulva and mound so matted with moisture that she’d wondered if she’d ever be dry again. She’d sometimes considered shaving, as she knew Lavender and Parvati, did, as she’d seen them in the showers and the dorm room she shared with them. 

She had tried to keep her voice down to make sure she didn’t wake Harry or Pomfrey, but she wasn’t sure if she’d succeeded. All she knew was that she’d eventually managed to finger a climax out of her, three in fact, and her body finally given out and she’d passed out at nearly 3am, now she was waking up, feeling dead tired, and starving, like the meal she’d eaten last night hadn’t mattered. 

She needed the bathroom and she needed a shower. Badly. 

_ ‘I’m going to KILL Draco! I don’t care what influence his father has! Morgana! I hope we can find a cure for this soon, I don’t know how much of this I can take!’ _ she thought as she rolled onto her side then sat up, rubbing her face and yawning again, then she noticed Harry looking at her, and she took a moment to get a good look at him. 

And if she was honest with herself? He looked awful, probably as awful as she looked, and probably felt the same. 

His face was tired, with bags under his eyes, his eyes were slightly bloodshot, and his hair was an unruly mess, well, more than usual. 

_ ‘Oh god, I really hope he didn’t hear me last night…’ _ she thought, she wasn’t sure she could have handled it if he’d heard her. 

“Hey, morning Harry.” She said, yawning again. “How’d you sleep? How are you feeling?” 

“Mornin’ Hermione, I slept ok I guess, though you wouldn’t know that considering the way I likely look and feel, and I’m also hungry, I feel like I haven’t eaten since lunch yesterday.” _'__I’m also hard as a rock.’ _he added as an afterthought. 

Hermione nodded and stood shakily, still rubbing her face, she made a mental note to quickly grab her wet discarded knickers, which were on the floor on the other side of the bed, she didn’t want Harry seeing them if she could avoid it. 

“Hopefully we’ll feel better after some breakfast, but first, shower.” She said, as she took a step towards him to help him stand. Smiling tiredly, he accepted her offer and stood, before stepping forward and wrapping his arms around her in a gentle hug. 

A little caught off-guard, Hermione hesitated for a second, before bringing her arms up and around him in a tight embrace, her head resting on his right shoulder. The second they were both embracing, they each felt it. 

Desire raced through them so fast they were both taken completely by surprise. Hermione sucked a breath in through her teeth as she felt her breasts firm up again, and her nipples harden to almost diamond points, at the same time, she also felt a rush of heat and moisture between her legs, again, and she instinctively clamped her legs together, in a futile attempt to stop the juices now flowing over her labia and down her smooth thighs in twin streams of liquid arousal, she also felt a tingling that she _ knew _ was her clitoris getting hard. As hard as the length of warm male flesh now pressing against her right hip. She blinked in surprise, as she hadn’t had the opportunity to guess it’s size the night before, but if she had to guess, it was between 4.5 and 5.5 inches long, and nearly 2 inches thick, just about average size, not too small, but not too large, just right for her to comfortably—. Her train of thought ground to a halt as she buried her face in his neck and growled in frustration. 

“Ugh…You have GOT to be fucking kidding me…I don’t believe this. Again?” she whispered, momentarily forgetting whose ear she was talking into. 

“You too huh?” he whispered, and before she could stop herself, she nodded, then sniffed, as a tear of frustration and anger fell from her right eye down her cheek, to stop on the skin of his shoulder, as the frustration from last night, and now, along with the tiredness and hunger caught up with her. 

“I don’t know how much more of this I can take Harry!” she whimpered. “I don’t know if I can handle another night like last night. What if we feel even _ worse _ tomorrow?! You could even miss your first proper Hogsmeade weekend! We need the counter spell. I’m going to fucking _ murder _ that _ RODENT! _” 

Harry nodded as he ran his hands gently up and down her back, giving her a brief back massage. “Yeah, I know what you mean. You think this is what he planned on doing? Turning us into Horny, Sleep-deprived Cannibals?” 

“’Horny, Sleep-deprived Cannibals’?” she asked, barely holding in her laughter, pulling back and arching an eyebrow as she stared at him incredulously. 

Harry snorted with amusement. “I have _no _idea where that came from, I just figured that, we’re both being sleep-deprived, we’re both seemingly constantly horny, and I don’t know about you, but if I get any hungrier, I’m liable to want to see what Slytherin meat tastes like.” 

“Heh, you are evil, Harry James Potter.” She laughed, and pulled back, stifling another yawn, then wincing slightly as she felt the beads of moisture flowing out of her pussy still dripping down her legs. 

“Right, shower, I _really _need to go first though.” She said, stepping back and turning away, trying to hide her blush as she made her way around the other side of the bed and awkwardly stooped to pick up her underwear, which she quickly pushed into the duffel-bag. 

As she turned back around, she noticed Pomfrey making her way towards them, a smile on her face. 

“Well, good morning you two. How are you feeling?” 

_ ‘Horny’ _“Still tired, feel like we haven’t slept at all, still hungry, hungrier than last night actually, it’s like we didn’t eat anything.” Harry replied, turning to Pomfrey fully, as the Matron came forward and started casting various spells. 

“Hm, your hormone levels have changed, hm, oh my…” whatever she was going to say next was cut off by the door opening, and Professor McGonagall entering. 

“Good morning you two, good morning Poppy. Any changes?” she asked. 

“Good morning Minerva. I was just checking, they’ve both reported that they’re feeling more tired than they were last night, they’re also hungrier, as if the food they had last night hasn’t taken, or if they didn’t eat anything at all. I’m also detecting very high levels of, uh, other hormones in their systems…” Pomfrey replied, not sure how much she should divulge. Minerva might be their Head of House, and Deputy Head, but Doctor/Patient confidentiality still applied, unless the patient's condition was life-threatening. 

“Uh, do you guys mind if we take our showers? We really need to.” Hermione asked, feeling slightly embarrassed. 

“Of course, you go first dear, then Mr Potter.” Pomfrey replied before turning back to her colleague. 

“Are they free to leave yet Poppy? Would it be safe for them?” 

Pomfrey sighed, “I wish I could be certain, given what they’ve told me, and what my readings have been showing, I’m hesitant. I’d rather keep them here.However, I am willing to let them go to class, provided they are careful, and they come straight back here if they start to get worse in any way, I'll also give them both some Pepperup Potions, but I don't want to give them too much.They are both showing elevated levels of several hormones, related to fatigue, hunger and, most recently…very high levels of Progesterone and Testosterone, though less so for the latter in Miss Granger. Also, I doubt they’d be able to concentrate enough in class to take anything in, especially in Potions, and you know what Serverus is like.” 

Minerva’s eye brows rose. “Really?” Pomfrey nodded. 

“Their best hope is for me to find out exactly what Malfoy used, and find the counter spell, I’m not sure how much more of this they can take.” 

Minerva nodded, a light scowl on her face. “We’ll be questioning him again today.” 

Pomfrey nodded, as Minerva turned to Harry and approached him as he stood, a little awkwardly, next to his bed, cleaning his glasses. He seemed to be standing with his legs slightly bed, and his back slightly arched, and for a moment, she wondered why, then she remembered what Pomfrey had said. 

_ ‘Oh, right.’ _ She thought, then she cleared her throat. 

“How are you feeling, Mister Potter?” she asked gently. 

Harry shrugged, as he looked at his Head of House, and tried to focus on her face, and not let his lust addled, tired mind draw his gaze down to her chest, which was thankfully concealed by her robes, while also trying to pose himself in such a way that didn’t show off the erection he was still suffering from. 

“Uhm, ok I guess, all things considered.” He said, somewhat uneasily. McGonagall gave him a light smile. 

“You don’t have to stand on my account Mr Potter, you can sit if that makes you more comfortable.” He did so, and probably faster than any other student she’d seen sit down. 

“Now Harry, do you believe you’ll be able to manage in class today? I can have Poppy give you some Pepperup Potions and see if that works. Though she doesn’t want to overdo it, too much Pepperup Potion can be dangerous.” 

Harry shrugged, as he tried to wake up his brain. 

“Well, we can try, I mean, no offence Madam Pomfrey but, Hermione and I would probably go stir-crazy in here with nothing to do.” Casting a slight smile at the Matron, who waved it off. 

“Don’t worry about it Mr Potter, though it is against my better judgment, I’ll allow you and Miss Granger to head down to breakfast and see how you manage, but if you feel like it’s too much, I want the two of you back here, understood?” Harry nodded. The bathroom door opened and Hermione came out, wrapped in a towel, Harry did his best not to look at her as he moved past her towards the bathroom. 

-=-=-=- 

A short time later, just before 8 am, Harry and Hermione entered the Great Hall and slowly, steadily made their way to their seats at the Gryffindor table. Ron was already there, already shoving food down his throat at such speed, Harry privately wondered if he was even tasting it. Neville came in a few minutes later and took his seat on the other side of Harry. 

“Hey guys, how are you both feeling?” he asked, as he took a freshly baked baguette, cut it open, buttered it, then started adding the fresh bacon. Harry licked his lips, his hunger so bad now, he’d have eaten the food raw, quickly reaching for the bread, he started to do the same. 

“We’re…hanging in there.” Hermione replied, wondering how noticeable the dark rings were under her eyes, McGonagall had kindly applied charms to both of them to hide them. She smiled to herself as she asked for a bowl of cereal, and it appeared. 

“Hopefully, we won’t feel like we’re starving after this, though I don’t see why we should, we ate dinner last night in the hospital wing, but we both feel like we haven’t eaten since lunch yesterday.” Harry added, as he finished his first baguette, and started on making a second, he really liked this French style bread loaf, he wondered why they didn’t have it more often. 

“That’s odd.” Parvati said, after finishing a croissant. “Are you guys absorbing anything from the food you’re eating?” 

Hermione froze. She blinked a couple of times before her eyes widened. 

“That’s…concerning. If we’re not taking in any nutrients from the food we’re eating, we’ll eventually die from malnutrition! Basically starve to death while our bellies are full! I’m surprised we haven’t already started suffering from dehydration.” 

“Well, we had water last night with the chicken dinner, maybe we’ll get lucky with liquids.” Hermione shook her head as she reached for a glass of pumpkin juice. 

“I’m not going on a liquid diet! I guess we’ll see. If I’m really thirsty by lunch time, then I guess we’ll know that I didn’t get anything from this juice either.” 

“Ok then.” Harry said, as he made himself a cup of coffee, deciding he needed something a bit stronger than pumpkin juice. 

As the rest of the students came into the hall and took their seats, Harry and Hermione quickly singled out Draco, who was looking at them and smirking, sending both of them a nasty look. They in turn sent him what they hoped, were murderous glares, each promising a cold, painful death for the Slytherin prick. Harry even made a point to slowly draw a finger across his throat, then point at him, his message clear. _ You’re dead, Ferret. _

He smirked as he saw a look of momentary surprise and panic flash across the ponce’s face, before he hurried to his seat. At the head table, Harry caught Snape sending him a baleful, withering glare, which Harry responded to by just staring back at him coldly. When the post arrived, Snape became distracted, and Harry sighed, knowing that the double Potions they had that afternoon was going to be especially difficult now. 

-=-=-=- 

During breakfast, when the Durmstrang students had come in, Viktor Krum had split off and approached their table to, rather awkwardly, ask Hermione if she would be willing to accompany him on the first Hogsmeade weekend of the school year the following day. 

Hermione had blinked, rather put out that he’d done such a fantastic job of utterly butchering her name. She wasn’t sure how to respond, Lavender and Parvati were both nodding vigorously, silently encouraging her to accept, the three Chasers, Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet were giggling silently at Hermione’s shocked expression. Fred and George looked interested, Ron was scowling, his face a twisted mask of jealousy, as the rest of the Gryffindors, they just watched to see what she would say. Harry was watching her carefully. 

“Urm…I’ll think about it, Mr Krum.” She said, not really putting much thought into it. _ ‘Assuming I’m not dead from starvation or dehydration by then.’ _ She thought. 

“Ja, ok, zhat iz fair.” He said in his deep voice, giving her an attempt at a friendly smile, before turning away and heading to the Slytherin table. 

“Why didn’t you accept?!” Lavender hissed in a high-pitched whisper, her expression one of incomprehension. Hermione rolled her eyes. 

“Simple, because, with what me and Harry are going through right now, I have no way of knowing if I’ll even be strong enough to _walk_ come tomorrow.” Hermione growled. 

“Oh, right, sorry.” Lavender said sheepishly. 

“You guys still feeling tired? Haven’t you been getting any sleep? What have you been doing?” Ron asked suspiciously. Hermione rolled her eyes. “Yes Ron, we’ve been sleeping, though for some reason, we both feel like we didn’t. But we assured Professor McGonagall that we’d be ok for classes today, at least, I hope we will.” 

“You guys have got History of Magic first two periods, right?” Katie asked, Hermione nodded, “…well, you know what Bins is like, practically the only reason anyone even stays in that classroom is so they can catch up on their sleep.” Hermione rolled her eyes, “Honestly Kate, I’m trying to _stay awake_, not continue to sleep.” 

“Well, if you guys end up needing to skip Charms and Potions, we’ll take notes for you, right guys?” Neville said, turning to the rest of his year-mates, Dean and Seamus, who nodded. He knew they couldn’t count on Ron for taking notes, after all, he barely did his own homework. And it was a sort of non-secret that he routinely swindled Hermione into doing his homework for him after he did the bare minimum, something that he suspected would stop pretty soon. 

Harry shook his head, trying to shake the hazy feeling from his brain, and doing everything in his mortal power _NOT _ to look at the Beauxbatons students, specifically, his fellow Champion, Fleur Delacour. If he got hard just hugging Hermione, he didn’t want to know what would happen if he looked at the beautiful part-Veela. 

“Thanks Nev, but I’m not sure it’ll matter, Snape will fail us just out of spite, after the glaring contest we just had.” 

“Don’t let him get to you Harry, he’s just trying to wind you up.” Hermione said, taking his hand in hers and giving it a gentle squeeze, which he returned. He snorted, “That greasy git has been ‘winding me up’ for the last 4 years Hermione, he just seems to have a pathological hatred for me for some reason, just because my dad and his friends used to prank him a lot.” 

Hermione sighed, he had a point. “I just hope we can get this curse cured before next Thursday, how are you going to compete in the first task if your half asleep on your feet?” Harry shook his head. “Honestly? I’m trying not to think about that.” 

It still confused him how his name had come out of that damn Goblet, out of the entire student body, and one or two teachers, he could count the number of people who believed he didn’t do it on one hand. And have fingers to spare. The only ones who had believed he was entirely innocent were Hermione, Dumbledore, McGonagall and now Neville. He was still annoyed by Ron’s jealous looks and almost non-communication. Harry suspected the only reason he’d put in an appearance the day before in the Hospital Wing was because of Hermione, part of him wondered if the redhead would have turned up if it had just been Harry himself. 

Harry didn’t bother reading the morning’s issue of the _ Daily Prophet _ , he frankly wasn’t in the mood to read another one of that hack Rita Skeeter’s articles, not after the piss-poor job she’d done with her interview with him. He silently wondered if she even knew _ how _ to do her research after reading the results of that interview. 

-=-=-=- 

Poppy Pomfrey strolled into the Hogwarts Library after breakfast, she’d kept a close eye on her two patients, who had taken their seats at the Gryffindor table. She was mulling the problem over in her mind, trying desperately to work out what curse they might have been hit with. After coming up empty handed, she’d decided to head to the library and do some digging of her own, starting in the Restricted Section. One of the perks of being a staff member, was not requiring a permission slip, not that she usually made a habit of going into that area of the Library. 

Harry and Hermione seemed to have managed to eat their breakfast without any trouble, and they’d walked out of the Hall easily enough, she just hoped they’d have the energy to make it through the day. She’d asked Filius and Serverus to keep an eye on them, and if it seemed they were struggling, to send them straight to her. Filius had readily agreed, assuring her he would, Serverus had just scowled, but then nodded begrudgingly when Pomfrey returned it. Poppy gave her friend Irma a curt nod, then approached the Restricted Section, mentally rolling her eyes at Snape. His grudge against James Potter was legendary, but she, like Minerva, couldn’t understand why he would pass on that grudge to Harry. 

Right now, they should be in History of Magic, and hopefully staying awake. 

Thinking carefully, Poppy considered the effects of the curse as she started to look at the titles of some of the books focused on more dark magic._ 'Hm, constant fatigue, hunger and apparently, sexual arousal. So probably a sex-magic based curse…hm.’ _She made a couple of selections, and pulled the books from the shelf, before walking to a nearby table and sitting down, casting a few privacy charms around herself, and started reading, hoping she’d find something. 

-=-=-=- 

** _ Later that day. _ **

Albus Dumbledore sat down behind his desk, thinking carefully. He needed to know where the boy had found that curse, what it was, and how to cure it. He knew he could easily pull the information from the boy’s mind, but he was hesitant to do try, as he suspected that Lucius had probably taught his son Occlumency, or at the very least, had requested Snape do so. As such, he could not risk probing the boy’s mind and have it be discovered, otherwise it would create complications that he just didn’t want at the moment. 

The other concerns, besides the curse effecting Harry’s ability to compete in the Tournament and face his destiny, that were now plaguing Albus’ mind, was the realization that he’d had, right after he’d woken up that morning, he wasn’t sure how he hadn’t realized it sooner: Harry Potter’s name coming out of the Goblet had an unintended side effect that Albus had not seen coming, but in retrospect, should have known would happen. By accepting Harry into the Tournament and forcing him to compete, the representatives of Hogwarts, mainly himself, and the representatives of the Ministry, Bagman and Crouch, along with the representative of Magic and the Tournament itself, the Goblet and the Tournament Judges, had all recognized Harry Potter as an of-age participant, and therefore, was legally Emancipated. 

He mentally cringed, he hoped, _ prayed _ that Harry wouldn’t find out about that, at least, not until it was too late to matter. The worst thing to happen now would be for Harry to realize he was no longer under Albus’ direct control. 

He would have to keep a very close eye on the boy from now on, and ensure his path was directed properly, and prevent Sirius from interfering should he figure out what Albus had. 

Albus was also concerned about Harry possibly Bonding with Miss Granger as a result of the curse forcing them into scenarios or circumstances that he could not control, if it even did that. But he did have the foresight enough to see that whatever this curse did, it would leave a lasting impression on the two of them, and possibly draw them closer together, which he did not want. He had made sure that Harry did not know about Bonding, and wouldn’t, at least until Molly’s daughter Ginevra was in a more suitable position to start the process, and affirm a relationship between her and Harry, with Molly providing the necessary potions to help things along. The same had been true for Miss Granger, though he suspected that the resourceful and inquisitive Muggle-Born had already discovered Bonding thanks to dorm-room gossip, but on the off chance she had not, well, she could be guided towards young Ronald, and could guide him and help him become the wizard Albus suspected he would one day be. 

After all, it was well known to Albus that Miss Granger had a habit of finishing Mister Weasley’s homework for him over the past few years. Sweeping it under the rug and getting his staff to ignore it had been difficult though. 

Dumbledore also knew of the attraction, or rather, infatuation, that the two youngest Weasleys held towards Mister Potter and Miss Granger respectively, which if nurtured and fostered, would hopefully help to build strong ties between them, with the two Weasleys taking the appropriate steps to ensure that Mister Potter and Miss Granger were Bonded to the ones that Albus believed they should be. It was all for the Greater Good, after all, even if Harry’s ultimate destiny was to sacrifice himself willingly to Voldemort, destroying the Horcrux in his scar. 

Of course, to ensure that the Potter line did not go extinct with his death, Ginevra would have to be carrying his child by then, since if Harry married Miss Weasley, it would allow the family to escape the impoverished state they had been in for nearly 25 years, not to mention, it would greatly elevate their status, something Molly had coveted for _ years _ . He smirked, yes, he needed to separate young Harry from Hermione, the first opportunity to do so had helpfully presented itself in the form of Viktor Krum, Albus had seen the young man approach Miss Granger at Breakfast, though she had turned him down, she hadn’t outright said ‘No’, and that presented an opportunity and there _was _the Yule Ball coming up...yes, that would work just fine. 

Plant a seed of attraction, via a potion in Krum’s Pumpkin juice, into Mr Krum, and he’d approach Hermione, hopefully before Potter would, and she should accept, _then_, with the Second Task, Hermione could be Krum’s Hostage...and if the charms keeping the hostages alive at the bottom of the lake were to somehow fail....Although that would scuttle young Ronald’s hopes of getting Granger, but, there were plenty of fish in the sea, as the Muggle saying went, but if Krum managed to reach her before that happened, then that was fine, as long as nothing developed between her and Harry. 

First thing first however, the cure from Draco, since, of course, he did not necessarily _ want _ to cure Granger, he had no choice but to do so. 

The smirk vanished from his face as the door opened and Draco Malfoy walked in, accompanied by Professors Snape, McGonagall and Moody. 

Albus did not like what he would probably have to do, but he had potentially tampered with destiny, and should be punished for that. He gestured to a seat opposite his desk. He sighed mentally as he could already predict the ranting and threats of Lucius. Minerva had wanted to question Draco first thing in the morning, after breakfast, but Dumbledore said that would interfere with his classes, so instead, they were doing this during the Lunch hour. Draco could afford to miss _ one _ meal, he reasoned. 

Draco Malfoy sat down in front of Dumbledore’s desk, already feeling bored. He wasn’t worried, they’d never get the information out of him if he said it was a spell from the Malfoy Family Grimoire, the books owned by all the Ancient, Ancient and Noble or Noble families that contained spells, potion recipes, rituals and various other magical teachings that were only passed down through the Family line and as a consequence, were sealed with blood wards, so the books could not be opened or read by any who were not a member of the family by blood or marriage. 

This was, of course, a blatant lie. He'd actually found the book in the Slytherin Private Library off of the main Common Room. Most of the books there were considered too dangerous even for the Restricted Section of the main Library, and contained some pretty dark magic, many illegal forms of magic, and even some _ Black _ magic books. _ Those _ books, Snape had ordered left alone, and Draco knew better than to touch them. One did not mess with Black Magic lightly. How they’d even gotten in to the Castle, no-one in Slytherin could say, as some had been there centuries, but by the look of them, many hadn’t been even opened in that long. The private Library also included a whole selection of books on fields of ‘lesser’ dark magic, including books on sex magic. 

His father had told him about one particular book, _ “The Dark Arts of Sex Magic” _ along with a number of spells contained within that he might find...entertaining to use on his rivals, and Mudbloods. 

He suddenly found himself wishing he’d used that breast enlargement curse on Granger, rather than that tooth growing jinx back on the 1st of November. It certainly would have taught the stuck-up know-it-all _ bitch _ a lesson if her boobs had been swinging around as she moved, each the size a giant pumpkin and constantly growing, reaching almost to the floor, though he figured they probably would have exploded before that happened. 

‘_ Maybe I'll try that temporary extra dick spell next time Pansy and I have a little fun.’ _ he thought, smirking to himself. 

“Now then, Draco, you do not want to be here and I do not want to keep you longer than necessary, so please, if you would be so kind as to tell me the name of this curse you used, where you found it, who told you of it. If you co-operate, then I am willing to show leniency.” McGonagall snorted faintly, making her opinion of that clear. Dumbledore sent her a look, then turned back to Draco. 

Draco looked every bit as bored and un-intimidated as he felt. _ ‘Old fool.’ _ he thought, making sure to raise his shields, just in case, just as his Godfather had taught him. 

“It’s an old family spell from the Malfoy Grimoire. As for the counter curse, I didn’t really look that up.” he said smugly. ‘_ That should make things difficult. I wonder how long it’ll take them to work out what the curse actually is, that’ll be quite the scandal. Like I told Granger, she better _ _ get _ _ used to giving head.’ _

“I doubt it Mr Malfoy.” McGonagall said, her tone sharp. He gave her a blank stare, which she returned with an unimpressed glare and raised eyebrow. 

“What does the curse do? I have heard of a few sleeping curses and starvation curses, but never one which did both.” Dumbledore said. 

_ ‘That’s because that’s NOT what it’s supposed to do, you stupid old Goat.’ _Draco thought. 

“It’s called the ‘_Torch of Hypnos _ ’, and basically, it will slowly drain their strength, making them so tired that eventually, they’ll pass out.” Draco said, which again, was a lie, he _had _read about the _Torch of Hypnos _and had considered using it, as it did make the target feel fatigue over time, though that was in a different book. The spell he’d actually picked was far more amusing. He just hoped that Potter and Granger didn’t die of starvation before they figured out what to do, after all, he’d feel cheated if he didn’t get to see the look of humiliation on their faces every day from now on. And he _had _ read the counter-curse, and almost _laughed. _Maybe he WOULD give them the counter spell, if only to watch with satisfaction as the fate of the Potter bloodline was sealed. 

“Where is the book now?” Dumbledore asked. Draco shrugged. “Back home at Malfoy Manner.” 

“Then I have two options. Search the books here in the Library, and ask Professor Snape to also let me search the Slytherin Private Library – yes, I know about that. - to try and find the counter curse, and to also contact your father and ask him to bring the Grimoire and allow me look through it. It would reflect badly on Hogwarts, and you’re family, if the truth got out that one of the Champions was stripped of their magic because they were sabotaged by a class-mate.” 

Draco blinked, processing what the old man had said, then he sneered. “Potter! He _NEVER _should have entered! He _cheated his way in! _” 

“That has yet to be proven!” Dumbledore said sternly. Draco scoffed. “Besides! I wasn’t even _aiming _at Scarhead! I was aiming at the _Mudblood __ whore! _” 

“MALFOY!” McGonagall barked, scowling. 

“Not _my_ fault that the idiot chose to use himself as a shield.” Draco replied, folding his arms. 

“Why would you target Miss Granger?” Dumbledore asked. Draco gave him a dumbfounded look. 

“Why _not?! _ She’s ‘supposed’ to be the smartest witch of our generation, something I highly doubt, by the way. She’s a Mud-_s__orry-Muggle-_Born, and she’s one of Potter’s closest friends. It’s just a bonus I got both of them!” 

McGonagall growled, Dumbledore could tell she was spitting mad, and while he would have been more than happy to give Draco a light punishment, points-loss and a detention, he knew if he did just that, Minerva would _never _let him hear the end of it. And a headache from her was not what he wanted. He knew he would probably get a lot of grief from Lucius over this, but he had no choice. 

“Then you leave me no choice Mister Malfoy.” Dumbledore said sternly. 

-=-=-=- 

Ten minutes later, Draco stormed down towards the Dungeons, heading to the Fourth-Year Potions lab. He was_ furious!_ The NERVE of that _Senile, withered Old GOAT! _

Banned from Hogsmeade Weekend Visits? For the _ENTIRE_ School year?! On top of a 200 points loss _and _serving detention with Filch until the New Year. Worse, the old bastard had even implied that he would not be considered for the Fifth Year Prefect position! As if anyone else could do it! He was the Prince of Slytherin! 

The old bastard would _pay_ for this insult! He'd contact his father, and ask for advice, or put pressure on the old man, or speak to him when he would come to the school and demand that Draco tell him what was going on and why he was to bring the Malfoy Grimoire. 

Draco had made a quick detour to the Common Room and then to his dorm, where he’d double-checked his trunk, and made sure it was sealed and hidden, and that the book was in there, it had been. 

He was hungry and irritated, he usually enjoyed Potions, as he enjoyed watching the Gryffs make fools of themselves, and watching his Head of House lay into them, but he was in too much of a bad mood to care today. 

In fact, he was in such a bad mood that he didn’t notice Potter and Granger ahead of him until he was almost upon them as they approached the Potions Lab’s door as the last of the class filed in ahead of them. From the way they were walking, supporting one another, it looked as if they were barely awake, and he doubted they’d have the strength to do anything to him, or even brew potions properly. Hopefully, they’d be so tired and they’d mess up so badly that their cauldrons would explode in their faces. 

“Hey Scarhead, Mudblood, I see you haven’t—” whatever Draco meant to say was cut off as both of his targets spun round to face him, fury blazing in their exhausted green and brown eyes. Their faces twisted into furious, tired scowls. Draco wasn’t quite sure what happened next, other than his world becoming one of fast movement, and_ pain. _

Two fists, Harry’s left and Hermione’s right, connected simultaneously with his face, sending him stumbling backwards. As his hands flew up to cover his face, and to check his nose to make sure it wasn’t broken, a second wave of pain exploded through his body as those same two fists connected, together, with his genitals, and he doubled over, letting out a strangled yelp. His hands instinctively moving away from his face, which came down, just as Hermione’s right knee came _up. _

“Looks like that put _you _in _your _place, _Ferret! _” Hermione snarled as she and Harry turned, opened the door and entered the Potions Lab for their double lesson with Snape, leaving Draco on the floor outside, moaning, blood pouring from his broken nose, his hands cradling his bruised testicles. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to, please follow this [Link](https://discord.gg/EYPgtjt) to reach my Discord Server, if you want to come and chat :)


	3. Hogsmeade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, first off, sorry if this chapter seems like filler, I just wanted to draw out Harry and Hermione's suffering a bit longer, because hey, we love to watch our heroes suffer, right? I also wanted to get the reactions of their friends, and what they were getting up to, can't neglect their friends after all. The next chapter (where the fun actually really starts) is almost written.
> 
> I also do not know off the top of my head when the Yule Ball was announced, so once Poppy let it slip, i decided to just roll with it, besides, this gives everyone more time to get appropriate outfits.
> 
> I'm also not sure about the chapter title, i actually wrote this before thinking of a title, i might change it down the line...

**Chapter 3: Hogsmeade**

** _Saturday November 19th_ **

** _Early morning, Slytherin Fourth-Year Girl’s Dorm._ **

Daphne Greengrass stretched and yawned. Then sat up, rubbing her eyes in the early morning light coming in through the high windows. The Slytherin dorms might be in the Dungeons, but they still needed windows for ventilation, which she was thankful for sometimes.

She wondered how her friend Hermione was doing, yesterday’s double Potions with the Gryffindors had been…_eventful._ After the class had entered, finding Professor Snape already waiting for them, the class had begun, when Snape had done roll call, and had got to Draco, and received no response, his dower glare had automatically fixed on Harry and Hermione, who had been last in, and both of them looked half asleep, but determined.

When the students had been ordered to pair up, Snape had ordered Hermione paired with her, and Harry paired with Blaise Zabini, the dark-skinned, black haired boy had sat stiffly next to Harry, only talking to him as much as he needed to, though Blaise seemed a little confused, and annoyed, by his apparent tiredness.

She’d asked Hermione how she was doing, and her covert friend had quietly replied “Hanging in there, feeling half dead on my feet, got worse since this morning. Constantly hungry is _not_ fun. I’m getting so hungry I think I’d be almost willing to start eating raw meat. And…I’m also pretty much constantly horny now, no matter what I do, and I know Harry feels the same.”

Daphne had given her friend a sympathetic look, though tried to keep it inconspicuous. Then Hermione had smirked as there was movement outside the door. “Still, the quick beating me and Harry gave Draco just before coming in was worth it.”

And at that moment, the door had opened, revealing said blond, his face bruised and bloody, at least one black eye developing, and he was limping rather heavily, wincing each time as he walked, and unsteadily took his seat. Snape had docked him 10 points for being late, and for the condition he was in.

Draco had scowled, a look of betrayal on his face as he’d glared at his godfather and Head of House, before finally scowling at Harry and Hermione, before begrudgingly taking his partner seat next to Ron Weasley, who looked at Draco like he was something a Kneazle had left in a litter box.

Unknown to Daphne or Draco, or Harry and Hermione, Snape had a pretty good idea why Draco was late, and who had given him such a beating. He had wanted to dock points from the two Gryffindors, and assign detention, but he knew he’d get hell from Minerva if he did. So, _this_ time, he’d let it slide.

By the time the double Potions lesson was over, Hermione looked even more tired, and Daphne was getting worried, even getting up after the potions lesson had been difficult for her, and she and Harry had walked out, leaning on one another, Neville Longbottom moving up to help them, the two of them giving him grateful looks.

She’d done her best to keep an eye on the two, and at the evening dinner, she’d seen Susan Bones also eyeing them.

Now, she made her way to the showers, taking care of her morning routine, then after getting dressed in her green Slytherin robes, she made her way to the Common Room, stopping to give her little sister Astoria a quick hug and kiss good morning, then the two of them made their way up to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Daphne was excited, it was the first Hogsmeade visit of the school year, and she’d heard through the gossip grapevine already, that Draco had apparently been banned for the _entire_ school year, by Dumbledore, for cursing Harry and Hermione, and the one time it had been mentioned to him after dinner, by one of the Seventh Years who wasn’t too fond of Draco inquiring about it, Draco had blown his top, and started ranting and yelling about _“Bloody fucking Potter!”_ and his _“Bloody fucking Mudblood whore!”_

Daphne was not happy about one of her few friends being insulted in such a way, and Draco was _still _ranting, and watching Pansy Parkinson fawning over the Ferret, making pointless platitudes, promising to get revenge on Hermione and Harry for him, Draco shook his head, muttering angrily.

“Don’t bother, from the look of them at dinner last night, I’m guessing they still haven’t figured out how to beat the curse yet, with any luck, by the time they do, it’ll be too late. Can’t that old Goat understand that Potter _cheated?!_”

“What curse did you use?” Parkinson asked, Draco muttered something, Daphne not being close enough to hear him, cursing herself.

“Ooooh! _That _one! I can’t wait to see their faces, assuming they survive.”

Daphne silently cursed as her sister dragged her towards the entrance of the Common Room to head up to the Great Hall for breakfast. The carriages would be leaving for Hogsmeade at 9 am and would be returning until about 4 pm. Daphne wasn’t sure if Hermione could be going, and from what Hermione had told her, Harry hadn’t yet got permission from his relatives to go.

She scowled, from what she’d heard, Harry's relatives sounded _horrible._ How someone could treat their own _nephew_ the way they had was unthinkable to her. If anyone treated her little sister like that, she’d kill them, without hesitation or notion of mercy.

She made a mental note search Malfoy’s room at some point, to see if he was still harboring the book.

“What’s going on Daph, you seem pretty quiet.” Astoria asked as her other friend, Tracey Davis fell into step with them. Daphne sighed.

“I’m worried Tori, Draco used a curse on a friend of mine and no-one has figured out a cure yet. Malfoy still has the book in his room, I’m gonna try and get it from him later today or tomorrow. Can’t do it during the Hogsmeade vision because he’s been restricted to the Castle, banned from Hogsmeade visits for the entire school year.” Tracey snorted.

“Oh, I bet he _loved_ that. I can picture his reaction now.” Her voice raised a couple of octaves, and her face took on a darkish, petulant expression as she did her best to impersonate Draco, completely unaware that said Slytherin had just exited the common room and was several meters behind them, just in time to hear the last of Daphne's statement, glaring furiously at their backs, while Pansy walked beside him, her pug-ish face twisted in indignation.

“_’You can’t do that! Just you wait until daddy hears about his! Blah blah blah!’_” she mocked, grinning. Astoria started giggling. Daphne snorted.

“Yeah, I imagine that was pretty much how it went. He’s such a _spoiled_ bastard!”

Behind them, Draco's face twisted in a scowl. How _dare_ Greengrass and Davis _mock_ him?! Didn’t they know who he was?! Well, he’d show them. Maybe he’d use that curse again, this time on Greengrass, or maybe her little sister.

But he hesitated. Snape hadn’t come down on him too hard for using the curse on Granger and Potter, as he believed it would teach them both some humility. Snape _had_ wanted to know what curse Malfoy had used, so he told him. At first, Snape had been surprised, asking _“Why that one?”_ and Draco had replied that, if they didn’t figure out how to mitigate the curse, or discover the cure, they’d be dead by Monday at the earliest.

Snape had paused and seemed to consider. _“And what is the cure?”_ Draco had replied, boasting and almost sniggering. Snape had then asked why he would want Potter to get the cure, and Draco had replied that, he was counting on Granger and Potter being so _desperate_ for a cure, that they’d use it before reading the effects.

Snape’s only response had been to raise an eyebrow, then snort to himself. Then he’d advised Draco to keep the book hidden and out of the Private Library, and to keep his Occlumency shields up, then left.

Draco stopped and sneered at the retreating forms in front of him. Then he turned and decided to take a different route. He’d deal with them later.

-=-=-=-

Bartemius Crouch Jr, Death Eater, and Polyjuiced Defense Professor, stalked through the halls of Hogwarts, mulling the latest problem over in his head. While part of him wanted to congratulate Draco on finding such an inventive curse to use on the filthy Mudblood Granger, the little upstart was too smart for her own good! In his opinion, the fact that Potter had also been affected, and was at this moment, bed-ridden in the Hospital Wing concerned him. It was less than a week until the First Task now, and Hagrid, that great lumbering _Oaf_, hadn’t yet shown Potter the dragons that had been brought in. He suspected that Maxime and Karkaroff…-Barty _snarled_ at the thought of that…_traitor-…_would show _their_ champions the dragons soon, Barty wasn’t bothered if Diggory found out or not, he wasn’t important, really, none of them were, except _Potter._ HE was the one who needed to reach the Cup, which Barty would rig with a Portkey once it was in position.

The _problem_…was if Potter _missed_ the First Task, the Goblet would interpret that as a _Forfeit_, which would instantly strip Potter of his magic, leaving him a Squib. And a _Squib_ Potter was useless to his Master. Not to mention, if the brat was rendered a Squib, he’d be _unable_ to participate in the rest of the Tournament anyway, and wouldn’t be able to reach the Cup, that’s if the Goblet declaring a _Forfeit_ didn’t outright _kill_ him, since it was a binding magical Contract.

He'd used Moody’s magical eye to scan both Potter and Granger the day they had been cursed, and he’d clearly seen it, as a red aura around them, though he couldn’t tell what curse it was. Now he was considering his next move. The most prudent course was obvious. Go and inform his master of the developments, get his opinion, and if he was familiar with the curse, where to find the counter spell.

Yes, that would do. Go down into Hogsmeade with the students, use a Floo connection or Apparate to his Masters’ location and inform him. It would be too risky to summon Pettigrew to Hogsmeade.

He paused, cast a quick _tempus_ to check the time, then took another swig of Polyjuice from his flask, grimacing at the taste. He _hated_ this stuff, but he had to keep drinking it, at least until his Master’s plan had worked, then he’d kill the old Auror, and be done with this place. He then turned and headed to the Great Hall for Breakfast.

-=-=-=-=-

Poppy walked into the Hospital Wing, carrying a small tray of food for her two patients, she smiled as she saw them sitting up, they seemed awake, but even from a distance, she could tell they were not doing as well as they had the day before.

Harry Potter and Hermione Granger looked, in her professional opinion, exhausted. They both looked even _more_ tired than they had the day before. She tried to hide the disappointment she felt at not being able to find the cures in the books she’d searched through the day before, though, she considered, there were books there she _hadn’t_ searched yet, so it was probably worth another look. She really didn’t want to put in a call to St Mungo’s, as she ran the risk of the information getting out. While the healers respected patient privacy, not _all_ of the staff did. And the last thing these two needed was getting hounded by the press, well, any more than they _had_ been.

“Morning you two, how are you feeling? I brought you some breakfast.”

“We’re…ok.” Harry said, rubbing his face, trying to clear his head. “What time is it?”

“About 8:30 in the morning Mister Potter, breakfast is still going, so I thought I’d bring you something.

“Any luck with…finding a…cure?” Hermione asked between attempts to stifle a yawn as she rubbed her tired face. Poppy frowned.

“I’m afraid not dear, not yet at least, but we’ll keep looking.”

“Has the _Ferret_ said anything?” Harry growled. Pomfrey shook her head.

“Nothing concrete from what I heard from Professor McGonagall, apparently he claimed it was an old family spell from the Malfoy Grimoire, so we’re searching the Library and the Slytherin Private Library to find any clues as to the curse and a cure. Professor Dumbledore may even have to contact Lucius and…_ask_ him to bring the Grimoire.” Hermione winced.

“Lucius isn’t going to like that.” She huffed in annoyance, though she had no sympathy for him or Draco. “At least tell us that Malfoy didn’t get off free for what he did to us.”

Pomfrey snorted. “Hardly. If what I’ve heard is right, he’s not only banned from Hogsmeade visits for the rest of the school year, as Mister Longbottom was last year, he may also have lost his candidacy for the Fifth Year Prefect post, something I’m _certain_ he’s furious about, if the glares he was sending Dumbledore during breakfast were any indication. McGonagall was _livid_. She was complaining to Albus at breakfast, demanding that Draco be handed over to Director Bones, but Albus refused, said something about not wanting Draco to be ‘prevented from being brought back to the right path’ or some such drivel. I suspect he may also be excluded from attending the Yule Ball.”

Harry and Hermione looked at each other in surprise, then at her. Pomfrey winced. _‘Damn it Poppy! You weren’t supposed to mention that!’_ she thought.

“A Ball? You mean, like a dance, with suits and dresses and stuff? That’s new.” Harry said. Pomfrey nodded. “It’s a Triwizard tradition, Mr Potter. The hosting school always has a ball on the evening of December 25th of the year the Tournament is held. Students from the ages of 14 and up, so Fourth years and up, will be able to attend. Third Years may attend, but only if they’re accompanied by an older student. And the Champions will be required to have a date of course, since they will be opening the Ball and leading the first dance.” She looked at him sympathetically as his tired face fell, a look of utter misery and hopelessness crossed his face, which he promptly buried in his hands.

“Well…that’s just _greaaat…_who am I going to ask to the Ball? Who’d _want_ to go with me?” he said sarcastically, and since he wasn’t looking at her, he completely missed the slightly hopeful look that had come across Hermione's face, but then vanished at his response, to be replaced by a slightly hurt expression, but Pomfrey did _not_ miss it, and she sent the younger witch a sympathetic smile.

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll find someone Mister Potter. There are _plenty_ of young Witches in the castle who would love to be your date.” Harry snorted.

“Not lately I bet. I can’t even dance! I’m probably more liable to trip over my own feet, or trip my partner, rather than actually _dance!_” he protested, finally looking up at her. Pomfrey rolled her eyes.

“You are being dramatic Mr Potter, now eat your breakfast!”

Hermione also rolled her eyes at him, and tucked into her own food, silently wondering if he would ask her, or if she’d have to ask him.

-=-=-=-=-

An hour later, in her office, Minerva McGonagall paced, mulling the problem over in her mind. She was _furious_ with Albus’ refusal to call Amelia Bones, for what Draco had done, he should at least be expelled. Minerva had argued the point, both the day before after Draco had been dismissed from Dumbledore’s office, again and breakfast, then _again_ in the old man’s office after that. But no, Albus was resolute. He believed expelling Draco would not help him find redemption for his actions and would steer him down a path that would only bring him pain later in life.

Minerva had countered that if anyone else had done this, if one of the Slytherins had been the victim, Snape would have ranted and raved and demanded the one responsible be expelled at the very least. And if Susan Bones had been the victim, then Amelia, as her only living family, would _have _to have been informed. And Dumbledore’s response, infuriatingly enough, had been the same.

_“We must endeavor to make sure they do not stray down the Dark Path Minerva, we must guide them towards redemption and the Light. No, expelling or imprisoning young Draco will serve no benefit to anyone, and will only serve to drive him down the same path his father took.”_

“I beg to differ!” she growled, she’d stormed out after that, saying that she would be keeping a _very_ close eye on Draco from now on, and if he stepped out of line like that again, she _would_ do everything she could to go over his head. She’d turned and left, before he could respond as he’d gotten to his feet to respond to the indirect challenge to his authority. As-of-yet, their search for answers had turned up nothing.

She was getting worried, she’d been in to see them after her meeting with Albus, and the two of them had been sleeping, and according to Poppy’s estimate, another day, and they’d barely be able to stay awake. Poppy had also informed her, regrettably, that she’d told them about the Yule Ball before Minerva had a chance to. Minerva had been a tad disappointed, as she’d been wanting to tell them, but she’d reassured her friend, saying _“Well, if we can get this mess sorted, it’ll give them something to look forward to.”_

Poppy had agreed, hoping that Mister Potter wouldn’t wait too long before asking Hermione to the Ball. Minerva had nodded, she’d been watching them the previous 3 years, and Hermione had been at his side through almost everything, and clearly cared about him, and she was sure Harry cared about Hermione, Minerva just wondered if it was platonic, or if it could be nurtured into something more.

She sighed, looking down at her desk at the unfinished letter she’d been trying to pen, the one that would be sent to Miss Granger’s parents, informing them of what had befallen their daughter. She just wasn’t sure how to finish it, and didn’t want to even try until they had more answers, but then, _HOW_ do you write such a letter? She was at a loss for what to do. After a few more minutes, she decided she could do no more in her office, heading out the door, she decided to head to the Library and do some more searching.

-=-=-=-

In his office, Albus sighed, his meeting with Draco yesterday and Minerva that morning had been a little taxing. He could not allow the DMLE to get involved, they would soon have other concerns, such as preparing the Ministry to face Voldemort. In his mind, he felt Draco had been punished enough, of course, this would mean that Serverus would have to find a replacement Prefect next year, since he had been forced to revoke that guarantee from Draco, thanks to Minerva’s presence in his office the day before. He would have been satisfied giving the boy detention until the new year, and the yearlong Hogsmeade ban, since he was sure to hear from Lucius soon demanding an explanation, but having him expelled or arrested? No, that would not do. Because once Voldemort returned, an embittered Draco would flock to Riddle’s cause and take his Mark.

Which, for the Greater Good, could not be allowed.

His plans to engender attraction between Hermione and Viktor Krum were on hold for the moment, until this curse business was dealt with, then things could proceed as planned. He just hoped that what ever the curse’s lingering effects were, if any, they could be managed.

-=-=-=-=-

** _Riddle Manor, Little Hangleton_ **

By mid-day, Bartemius Crouch Jr entered the dilapidated ruins of the building that had once been the home of the muggle Riddle family, though he did not know that, he did not need to, after all. As he walked through the overgrown and moldy corridors and rooms, he idly wondered _why_ his Master chose this place to hide conceal himself in. it had taken a little longer to get away from the students than he’d thought, as he’d decided to grab himself some lunch first at the Hog’s Head Inn, owned by Albus’ brother Aberforth.

His time in the Inn had been thankfully brief, there hadn’t been many patrons, as the students mostly stuck to The Three Broomsticks and Fortescue’s. though his lunch had been nice, a nice chicken pie and peas, to help get rid of the taste of the Polyjuice. He’d also taken a quick trip to Nocturn Alley to acquire more, as he didn’t fancy brewing any now, besides, he had plenty in his trunk back at Hogwarts. He was just lucky no-one had tried to wake him at night while he slept, while he wasn’t under the effects of the potion.

He paused as he came to the door of the room where he knew his Master resided. He knocked twice.

_“Enter!”_ came the rasping voice.

Barty opened the door and stepped inside, averting his gaze from the malformed bundle in the room, he approached to within a respectable distance, and knelt. To his right, he could see the form of Peter Pettigrew watching him carefully.

_“Ah…Barty…my most loyal…What have you to report?”_ Voldemort hissed, his familiar, Nagini, coiled protectively around him, eyed him carefully, her tongue flicking every few minutes.

“Master…there has been a…_development_ with the boy.” He said carefully, making sure to keep his gaze down unless ordered otherwise.

_“A ‘Development’? Explain.”_

“The Potter boy and one of his friends, a Mudblood girl, got into an altercation with the son of Lucius Malfoy, on Thursday after their last Defense class of the day. Words were exchanged, followed by spells. It seems the Malfoy boy lost his temper and attempted to curse the Mudblood, but Potter stepped between them and took the hit, though she was still affected.”

There was no response from the bundle, and Barty began to get nervous.

_“How is it affecting Potter?”_ Voldemort asked after a minute or so.

“According to what I’ve overheard; ever increasing hunger and, exhaustion and fatigue. No matter how much they eat and sleep, they feel as if they have done neither. They’re both currently in the Hospital Wing. The staff are attempting to find a cure, but as-of-yet, have had no luck.”

_“Have they interrogated the Malfoy brat?”_ Voldemort hissed.

“Aye, my Lord. He claims the curse is a spell from the Malfoy Family Grimoirum, but I have my doubts.”

_“What are the odds of Potter being able to compete in the First Task?”_

“At the moment? Slim. Unless a cure is found, or a way to mitigate the curse’s effects, he’ll be lucky to even be able to stand come the First Task, if he doesn’t die or is driven mad with starvation before then.”

Voldemort paused again.

_“This…will not do…”_ Voldemort hissed, his anger clear. Barty waited.

_“Barty, you will return to Hogwarts, you will find a cure for Potter, or a means of mitigating the curse’s effects enough so that he can compete and is not stripped of his magic. A Squib, or _dead_ Potter is of no use to me!”_ Voldemort paused, before continuing. _“Normally, I would commend Draco for such…creativity…But NOT when it jeopardizes my plans!”_

Barty nodded. “And…what of Potter’s friend? The Mudblood?”

_“She is irrelevant.”_ Was the reply.

“And what of Draco?”

_“The outcome of the next few days will decide his fate. If Potter dies or is rendered a Squib, then Draco shall take his place. And if not, then he will live to learn from his lesson.”_

Barty nodded, knowing he had been dismissed, he stood and turned, walking quickly from the room.

-=-=-=-=-

** _Three Broomsticks, Hogsmeade._ **

Neville Longbottom sighed as he enjoyed the nice quiet drink he was having with Hannah Abbot, her friend Susan, _her _friend Daphne, Tracey Davis, Ginny Weasley, Ron (who was alternating between ignoring the Slytherins and glaring at them), the Twins, and the Gryffindor Chasers. Several of the Beauxbatons students, including their Champion, Fleur Delacour were also in the pub, as was Viktor Krum, and his small entourage of fangirls, and several other Durmstrang and Slytherin students were all clustered into the Three Broomsticks.

Neville noticed that Krum didn’t look so happy about the followers he had, if anything, he looked frustrated and annoyed. He remembered Krum asking Hermione, pronouncing her name rather brokenly, if she would accompany him. He’d been surprised, and Ron had been jealous, which Neville had rolled his eyes at, honestly, Ron didn’t stand a chance with Hermione, not after the way he’d treated her over the years. Susan Bones had apparently complained to Hannah about him once, after Hermione had ranted about Ron’s treatment of Harry following the Halloween Feast.

If Neville was honest with himself, he still felt a little guilty about not believing Harry when he’d first proclaimed his innocence, but he’d come ‘round after thinking carefully. Ron however, refused to accept it, and as far as Neville knew, was still blanking Harry.

“You guys had any look searching?” he asked. Daphne shook her head.

“Not yet, I can try go get hold of the book Draco found it in, though I have no idea when I’ll be able to, since he’s stuck in the castle.”

“Haven’t you been looking?” Susan asked, raising an eyebrow. Neville shook his head, feeling guilty. “Searching for curses isn’t exactly my thing, besides, I’d have to get into the Restricted Section, and I doubt McGonagall would give me a pass. I’ll be going back to check on them when we get back, maybe I’ll nip into Honeydukes and pick something up for them.”

“We really should go see them, brother of mine.” Fred said, or was it George? The other twin responded, smiling. “We should! Oh brother of mine.” Neville rolled his eyes as the girls giggled. “Just don’t prank them, ok? They’ve been through enough!” he scolded.

“You wound us friend Neville!” the twins said in unison, putting their hands over their hearts. Neville snorted and rolled his eyes.

“I overheard Draco talking to Parkinson, he told her what curse he used, but I wasn’t close enough to hear.” Daphne said. “I hope we can figure something out soon. If I can just get that damn book.”

“Well, when you get it, send me a note via House-Elf or Owl or something, and I’ll meet you in the entrance hall, then we’ll figure out where to go from there.” Susan said quietly, Daphne nodded, giving her friend a smile.

“I haven’t seen Malfoy out here.” Angelina Johnson said, giving Ron a look as he took a drink from his glass of Butterbeer, shooting Daphne and Tracey another look. Tracey snorted with amusement.

“And you won’t. Not for the rest of the school year. He got banned for cursing Harry and Hermione. Also apparently invalidated as potential prefect next year. He’s _pissed._ He’s also apparently banned from the Yule Ball. Pansy was NOT happy when she heard that news.”

“You looking forward to that? Got a date yet?” Neville asked. Tracey nodded. “I don’t have a date lined up yet, but I’m sure I’ll find one.”

“You know you’ll probably need a date right?” Ron asked Neville. Neville looked at him. “Yeeaaah…” he said, drawing out the word. Ron shrugged.

“Well, hope you can find one.”

Neville cast a look at Hannah, who smiled at him a little flirtatiously. “Oh, don’t worry about me Ron, I think I’ll be fine. You’ll have to find a date too ya know.”

Ron shrugged. “I’m sure Hermione’ll go with me.”

Neville raised an eyebrow. “What makes you say that?” Dean asked. Ron rolled his eyes as he turned to his dorm-mate.

“Who else is she gonna go with?”

“Krum?” Alicia asked, smirking at the jealous scowl that crossed Ron’s face.

“Harry?” Katie said, Ron’s ears started to flush red.

“Hell, I bet she’d even go with Neville if he asked. Or me!” Seamus said, missing the look Hannah gave him and the embarrassed look Neville gave him. Ron snorted.

“Yeah…right…” then he finished off his butterbeer and set the glass down. “Hermione and I have been flirtin’ with each other for ages! We’re great for each other!”

“_’Flirting’_? Is _that_ what you call yelling at each other, blanking her during Third Year after that mess with Harry's broom, and upsetting her during First Year so badly that she ended up in a situation where she was nearly _killed_ by a Troll?” Susan asked, incredulously. Ron’s face flushed. “How’d you know about—”

“Well, when you drove her away last year over Harry's Firebolt, she ended up in the library with me and Daphne, and we got talking.” Susan said, giving him a hard look.

“Seriously Weasley, yelling and arguing is your idea of _‘Flirting’_? Who in Morgana’s name told you _that_ equaled flirting? Harry has a better chance of landing Hermione as a date than you _ever_ will.” She then turned and stared at the twins. “You two really need to educate your younger brother on how to properly interact with and treat women.”

The twins gave each other a look, then nodded.

“Don’t you worry…” said one.

“…We’ll take care of ikkle Ronnikins.” Said the other, both grinning evilly. Ron gulped, wondering what the Puff had landed him in, as the others broke out in laughter.

-=-=-=-=-

Later that day, at around 5pm, Neville, Fred and George entered the Hospital Wing to find Harry and Hermione sitting up, going over their homework again.

“Hey guys.” Neville said, as he approached Harry's bed and dropped a small bag on the nightstand. “Picked up a little something for you from Honeydukes.”

“Thanks Nev.” Harry said, giving his friend a tired smile.

“How are you two feeling?” Fred asked.

“Enjoying your time together?” George asked, giving Harry and smile and winking.

“Oh _yes_ George, or is it Fred? We’ve had a _great_ time sitting here with almost nothing to do except get hungrier and hungrier, and more and more tired.” Hermione growled, as Neville passed her a small bag.

“We nipped into _Tomes and Scrolls_ to try and find something that could help you guys, but none of what they had seemed to describe what you guys are going through, sure, there were curses and such that caused hunger or tiredness, but not both.” Fred said. Hermione gave him a thankful smile.

“I didn’t think you would, there are…_other_ side effects that this curse is having, but…don’t really want to go into that right now.” She said, her cheeks reddening slightly. Harry's face also reddened, and he refused to look at her.

The twins and Neville exchanged a look.

“Want us to deal with Draco?” Fred asked.

“If it involves beating him to a bloody unidentifiable pulp, then yes please!” Harry said. “I don’t think that quick beating we gave him outside of Potions on Friday got the message across.”

“So that _WAS_ you!” Neville said, grinning.

“Oh? Do tell!” the twins said in unison.

“Basically, he came up behind us as we were about to enter Potions, started flapping his gob, so we punched him in the face, at the same time…” Harry said.

“Then punched him in the balls…at the same time…” Hermione said with a grin.

“Then Hermione kneed him in the face when he doubled over from the crotch-punch, and we left him on the corridor floor.”

The twins and Neville looked at each other, then burst out laughing.

“Oh Merlin! I can’t believe we missed that!” Fred said.

George nodded. “Yeah, I would have paid good galleons to see that.”

The twins and Neville stayed a short while, before leaving. Parvati and Lavender stopped by just after dinner, which the House-Elves had delivered. While Hermione had her issues concerning the way House-Elves were treated by most families, she was too tired, and too hungry to care at that point.

When it was almost bedtime, Pomfrey had had to help them to the showers, but had been able to provide shower stools for them so they didn’t have to struggle. With professional detachment borne of years of experience as a healer, Pomfrey had noted the two’s now constant state of sexual arousal on top of their other frustrations, and mentally ran through the possible potions she could give them for that, unfortunately she didn’t really have any of the more powerful ones that would last the whole night, and the side effects for the ones she did have were…not pleasant.

Pomfrey sighed as she watched the two of them settle down for the night, wishing she could help them.

-=-=-=-=-

** _The following morning._ **

Daphne Greengrass looked around the Fourth-Year boy’s dorm room, Crabbe and Goyle were still asleep, snoring loudly, as was Nott, but Draco was up and out of the room already, probably showering, which was just fine by her, as she approached the trunk that she knew was Draco's. she had to be quick; get in, grab the book, if it was there, then get the hell out. She didn’t want to know what Malfoy would do if he caught her with the book, then again, she could probably convince him to let her borrow it…but he’d want something in exchange.

She shuddered.

She had a pretty good idea what he’d want, too.

Despite her close friendship with Hermione and Susan, there were things about life in Slytherin that she had not told them. And wasn’t sure she could.

Putting those thoughts and memories out of her mind, she quickly knelt by his trunk and muttered the unlocking spell, she also cast a silencing charm on it in case the hinges squeaked. Once it was open, she started to rifle through it. Ignoring a half-written letter to his father, no doubt whining about his punishment, it didn’t take her long to find a book that she knew did not belong.

It was black, bound in hard leather, decorated on the cover with various pictographs she couldn’t identify. Across the top, in stylized hand, was the title: _'__The Dark Arts of Sex Magic’_ with the author’s name below it being faded and illegible.

Standing, she quickly closed and relocked the trunk, after transfiguring the cover of one of his other books to match the one she now held, then canceled the silencing charm on it, turned and quickly headed out of the room. Quickly, she returned to her own dorm room, slipped the book into her bag, then headed for the shower. Hopefully by the time Draco figured out the book was gone, she and Susan would have found something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter....LUNA!
> 
> :P


	4. Finding a Cure...of a sort pt 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here it is, the chapter many of you have been waiting for. The first (of many) lemons. They won't ALL be as detailed as this in future chapters, depending on how i feel when i write them.
> 
> I also borrowed a few things from "Harry Potter and the Sword of Gryffindor" by Cloneserpents, the first HP fanfiction I ever read. I read it before i watched the movies, or read the books. Its actually what got me into the HP fandom (and of course, made me a Harry/Hermione shipper from chapter 1).

**Chapter 4: Finding a Cure...of a sort part 1**

** _Sunday, November 20th 1994_ **

** _Hogwarts Great Hall._ **

“I have it.” Daphne whispered to Susan as the two of them exited the Great Hall after breakfast, Susan nodded and then looked around.

“Where do we go? The library, or McGonagall’s office? Or take it to Pomfrey?” she asked. Daphne looked thoughtful.

“Let’s go to the Library, if Draco follows us and causes a scene, we’ll have witnesses, and Pince will throw him out.”

Daphne nodded, and followed her friend. Once, they made it to the Hogwarts Library, and once they were in, the two girls found ‘their’ table, the one they usually used for studying with their Gryffindor friend, and took a seat, there were a few other students in the Library, including a few Durmstrang students, but the girls ignored them. A small contingent of girls were still following

Daphne pulled the dark leather book that had a non-descript cover out of her book bag. Susan looked at the title on the cover and scowled.

_ ‘The Dark Arts of Sex Magic’ _

“Lovely title…” Susan snorted, as she and her blonde friend started leafing through the book, taking a moment to read the Forward at the beginning. _“_Hey, listen to this Sues…”_Not to be confused with _‘The Magic of Making Love’ _which is a book that focuses on the _positive _aspects of Sex-Magic, of which there are many. This book focuses on the more negative and therefore, more well-known side, specifically on Sex-Magic that is focused on the darker side of sex; such as non-consensual sex, which is one of the main reasons Sex-Magic as a whole is considered Dark by many. Whereas the Magic of Making Love focuses on spells, potions and rituals centered around and focused toward Consensual Sex, Love, Fertility and Pleasure. Since sex is the act of creating new life, and Magic is the essence of life, it can be theorized, and in some small circles, is believed, that Sex-Magic is essential for life.” _Huh, I’ll bet they’ll never teach _this_ in any of the classes here.” Daphne said, Susan nodded.

They spent a few minutes leafing through the book, looking for the curse Draco had used, a few caught their eye, such as the _‘Uncontrolled Breast Enlargement Curse’_ which if used, would cause a Witch’s breasts to inflate, until they literally exploded, which would, naturally, be fatal to the witch in question.

Another spell they found would give a wizard a temporary second penis. Yet another spell they found, turned the wizard’s tongue _into _a penis. The two girls’ eyes had almost popped out of their sockets as they’d read the possible uses for that spell. There was another spell that turned a witch’s lips 90 degrees, and effectively turned her mouth, at least her lips, into a perfect replica of her vulva, with a fully functional clitoris, or at least, the shaft and glans of one, where her nose would have once been.

“Who the _hell_ would want a fanny on her face?!” Daphne blurted, staring at the animated magical illustration that demonstrated the effect, in case the verbal description wasn’t clear enough.

“Pansy?” Susan asked with a smirk.

Daphne snorted, “Ok, you might be right there.”

They continued to read, skipping to the back end of the book, towards the heavier spells, thinking what they were looking for could be found there.

“No, I don’t think he used this one, and I’m glad he didn’t…” Daphne said, shuddering in revulsion as she read the description of a particularly nasty curse, and its effects on its victims and its usage history. Susan leaned over to look.

“The _‘Rapist Curse’_?” she asked, eyes widening as she read the effects.

“Yeah, Draco didn’t use this, if he had, Harry and Hermione would be all over each other by now, fucking each other, and everyone else they come across _raw._ And they’d also be suffering from these other effects too, so no, _definitely_ not this. Thank Merlin!”

“Hello.” came a serene, calm voice.

Both girls looked up, eyes wide, as they laid eyes on a waif of a girl with long dirty-blonde hair, and large silvery eyes, that both seemed to have a faraway gaze in them, but at the same time, were also focused. Daphne saw keen intelligence in those eyes, though her outward demeaner was one of aloofness. Daphne of course, recognized her immediately, as she suspected, so did Susan. The girl gave off an aura of distinct dottiness. Perhaps it was the fact that she had stuck her wand behind her left ear for safekeeping, or that she had chosen to wear a necklace of Butterbeer bottle caps.

Even if the third-year hadn’t been wearing Ravenclaw colors, it would be nearly impossible _not_ to recognize Luna ‘Looney’ Lovegood, the daughter of Xenophilius Lovegood, the owner and editor-in-chief of the _Quibbler_, a magical Magazine that usually contained articles on strange and exotic creature, many of whom hadn’t yet been seen, but Luna claimed to be able to, something that made her the subject of a lot of ridicule, both in her own house and the others. The snakes in particular were especially harsh, though Daphne did her best not to be, she’d heard through the rumor mill that Luna had watched her mother die at a young age, and in Daphne’s opinion, she’d be honestly surprised if Luna _wasn’t_ a little fucked up in the head after that.

Neither of the two older witches tried to hide the book, they figured she’d already seen what they were reading anyway.

“Uh, hi, Luna is it?” Susan asked. The girl smiled dreamily.

"Some people call me 'Loony' Lovegood, actually."

“Well, we won’t. We don’t like bullies.” Daphne said, smiling.

Luna blinked slowly. “A lot of my bullies are Slytherins. Some of the worst are in my own house though, such as Cho Chang, Marietta Edgecombe and Margot Smythe. I don’t like them.”

“We’re not _all_ the same.” Daphne said a little defensively.

“May I join you?” Luna asked. Daphne and Susan exchanged looks, wondering if they should let her. The two of them held a silent conversation, before finally Daphne gave an almost invisible nod. Then they turned to Luna.

“Sure, maybe you could help us, we’re trying to find details on a curse a friend of ours has been hit with.”

“Ok. Thank you.” Luna said, as she took a seat next to Susan and leaned over to read the book.

After another 15 minutes of searching back through the book, Susan spotted something that made her stop.

“Wait! Hold up! What’s this? Huh…How did Hermione say she was feeling? Increasing tiredness and hunger, even though they’ve been eating for the last two days and sleeping in the Hospital Wing?” Susan asked, skimming the text. Daphne nodded.

“Yeah, and Harry has been the same. Why? What have you…_Oh._” She asked, as she saw what Susan had, and Luna also leaned forward.

Susan started reading it aloud.

“**_’The Gift of Aphrodite’_** also sometimes called **_‘The Kiss of The Succubus’_** curse. Oh boy…that doesn’t sound good.” then she swallowed and continued, her eyes widening.

“Listen to this: _"__Those affected by this spell are forced to subsist almost entirely on sexual emissions of other humans, and in some cases, animals when humans cannot be found or are unwilling, in order to survive. Requiring consumption of seminal or vaginal fluids at least once every 12 hours, but the more often, the better._

_To facilitate this, Wizards and Witches affected by this spell have their mental perceptions of taste altered, so when they ingest seminal or vagina fluid, they perceive its flavor as something they enjoy eating most. They are also induced into a near constant state of arousal until the spell’s initial requirements are met. There is also speculation that the sense of smell of the affected individuals is also affected, though this has not been verified._

_Those affected can eat food but gain no nutrients from it. They will also experience constant hunger even after eating, with the feeling increasing exponentially. The only food they can eat and get any benefits from seems to be water. Nutrients digested from consumed food are kept from being absorbed by the body, thanks to the spell, until its magic detects the presence of seminal fluid or vaginal fluid in the stomach of the affected Wizard or Witch, at which point the ‘stored’ nutrients are released and absorbed by the body."_

“Who the _fuck_ created this?!” Daphne hissed, furious.

A sharp “SHHH!” from the front desk told them that Madam Irma Pince had heard her, and was reminding them to be quiet. If there was one thing Pince hated more than an over-due book return, it was noise in her domain.

“Hey wait, what’s this bit?” Susan asked, pointing to a block of text below the listed effects._ “WARNING: Delaying consumption of fluids beyond the minimum required instances will result in increasingly severe states of malnutrition and fatigue and arousal, until the subject succumbs first to coma, then to death by starvation, accelerated by the magic of the spell, leading to the effected individuals succumbing to starvation far sooner than they normally would, within 3 days to succumb to coma, 5 to succumb to death, at most.”_ She blinked, not sure she read it right, then reread the description of the worst of the effects, and the warning. “What the actual _FUCK?!_” Susan spat, incredulous.

“That can’t be right…” Daphne said, staring at the text, wide eyed. “If that’s accurate, that means…that means…” she stammered, unable to finish her thought aloud.

“It means…that Harry and Hermione are going to be giving, and probably _getting_ a _lot _of head in the foreseeable future. In fact, I’d say they’re gonna become _experts_ at it. Because it will literally _KILL_ them if they don’t.” Susan growled, also not believing what she was reading.

Luna, for her part, seemed completely unaffected, as if what she’d just heard was perfectly normal.

“That does seem like a rather odd effect for a curse to have. Usually the effects are more debilitating and over a shorter period, and I’ve never read any curse descriptions that have actual warnings of their effects. This almost seems like a spell meant for foreplay that went wrong, and wasn’t _intended_ to be a curse, but eventually became classed as one. Which would explain why there is a warning in its description of its effects, and why it’s called the Gift of Aphrodite.” Susan and Daphne stared at her. “What do _you_ know about foreplay? You’re _thirteen!_” Daphne asked, eyes wide.

“Almost fourteen. In three months.” Luna replied.

“Still...” Susan replied, not sure how to respond, she didn’t want to upset the girl.

“There is no set starting age for a teenager’s ability to experiment with sexual activity or explore their sexuality.” Luna commented offhandedly. “I have been rubbing my fanny, or masturbating, or if you prefer, ‘_stirring_ _my_ _Cauldron’_ for over a year now. And my parents had a very active sex life. I could certainly hear them well enough. Besides, my parents were, what is the muggle term? Oh yes, Naturists.”

Susan blinked at her, thanks to Hermione, she knew some muggle terms, so she knew what Luna meant.

“Wait...Your parents were nudists?! Are...are you?” Susan asked, shocked, Daphne was equally surprised. Nudists were not common in the Magical world, and almost unheard of in England, given the traditionalist views of most Pure-Blood families. They were more common in main-land Europe and the US, in warmer climates, though again, it was usually Muggle-borns that practiced it.

Luna looked downcast, “Not anymore. Not since my mum died, and I'm not allowed to here at Hogwarts.” she said sadly.

“I...I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you Luna.” Susan said sympathetically, reaching over to take one of the girl’s hands in her own.

“It’s ok. I’ve had time to heal. Though not many friends.”

“Well, now you have us, and once Hermione and Harry meet you, I'm sure they’d love to be your friend.” Susan replied smiling.

“Yep.” Daphne added, then she turned her attention back to the book, once again going over what they’d read. “So, you think this spell might have started out as a form of foreplay?” She asked. Luna nodded.

“Yes, look here at its effects: "_Wizards and Witches affected by this spell have their mental perceptions of taste altered, so when they ingest seminal or vaginal fluid, they perceive its flavor as something they enjoy eating most." _That definitely sounds like something that would be used in foreplay, to encourage couples to engage in oral sex.”

“Fuck me…” Daphne breathed.

“Not here, it’s too dusty, there are other students present, and the table would not exactly be comfortable enough for you to get into a position that would allow us to rub our vaginas together even though I have not done that before, and I do not possess a dildo or a penis, sorry. However, I would be more than willing to try and perform cunnilingus and lick your vagina for you if you prefer, although I have not done that before either.” Luna said, completely missing the fact that Daphne’s comment wasn’t aimed at her, and had not been an _actual_ request.

Daphne stared at her, eyes so wide they nearly popped out of her skull as her jaw went slack in complete shock and disbelief. Susan wasn’t doing much better. “I…I…I…**_WHAT?!_**” Daphne said, completely taken aback, embarrassed and utterly mortified by what her new friend had just said, her face turning two different colors; white and red. She could not _believe_ what the young Ravenclaw had just said! Susan was likewise shocked, not quite believing what the girl next to her had just so casually said, and implied about herself. She had not known Luna for even an hour, but she was already starting to realize how she may have got her nickname, and the fact that she seemed to speak her mind. And took EVERYTHING she heard literally.

“So…” Susan said, trying desperately to come up with a change of subject for her friend’s sake. “This spell started out as an attempt at foreplay you think?”

“That makes the most sense. Why else would a curse force people to do what normally, they would love to do? Perform oral sex on each other. There is also this part here, about the spell altering a person’s perception of taste, and maybe even smell, so any semen or vaginal juices they get in their mouth tastes like their favorite food. Clearly, this spell was created with married couples who were in a loving stable relationship in mind and was likely intended to be used on both. That is _not_ what a true curse-creator would intend. I think this spell was originally intended as a form of foreplay, but only became considered a curse, and known as one, when it was discovered that there was no way to reverse it, and the debilitating, potentially fatal side-effects were first discovered.”

Daphne mulled it over, thinking, she took in everything that was said, and what they’d read, and with a sinking feeling, realize the full depth of the implications for her other friend, and _her _friend, Harry Potter. “That means they’re gonna have to, literally, feed from each other, _eat_ each other, at least twice daily, to keep their strength up and avoid dying of starvation in about a week...Merlin...I sincerely hope, that for Harry’s sake, that Hermione is a squirter.”

“Tell me about it…although, that’s urethral, not vaginal. Hermione will just have to get _VERY_ wet. _“Affected witches and wizards will experience feelings of fatigue that increase with time without meeting requirements to alleviate symptoms._

_Self-stimulation has no long-term effect at relieving symptoms of arousal. Any relief from self-stimulation, if it is achieved, is only temporary._

_Strength, stamina and alertness are restored upon ingesting sexual fluids of partner, whether they have the curse also or not.”_ Huh, so they might not have to feed exclusively on each other. They could be able to get what they need from anyone.” Susan said. Daphne snorted.

“Yeah right. Can you imagine Hermione dragging random boys into broom closets one or more times a day to blow them? I’m sure there are plenty of girls who would lift their skirts for Harry though. And can you _imagine_ the rumors that would start flying about them?”

“You’re right.” Susan said, as she thought for a moment. “They’re not gonna be happy when they hear all this. To say nothing of what McGonagall will say.”

“Do you think that they would let their friends help them?” Luna asked.

“Uh, what do you mean?” Susan asked, almost afraid to ask.

“Well, it’s my understanding that friends help each other, and the two of you are their friends, and hopefully soon, I will be too. And it would be unreasonable to assume that Harry Potter and Hermione Granger would be able to get what they need from each other all the time they may need to. So their friends should be willing to help them.” she said nonchalantly.

Daphne and Susan stared at her. Their brains not quite willing to process what she was implying.

“Are you…Are you suggesting that we let them, both of them, lick our pussies?!” Daphne asked, eyes widening. Susan nodded. “I’m not sure Hermione would be ok with that, I’m pretty sure she’s straight, I know I am. And besides, I don’t really know Harry all that well, haven’t really talked to him, most of what I know about him I know through Hermione.” Susan protested. “I can’t just walk up to him, drag him to a closet, get him down on his knees and shove his face in my fanny!”

“You could make the offer at least, just so he knows you’re willing to help him if he needs it.” Luna said, then continued after a moment, “And there’s nothing stopping you getting to know him.”

“Uh…” Susan said, not quite sure how to respond to that.

Daphne nodded, then she spotted something. “Here’s a bit on its history: _“The exact origin of the curse is unknown. Believed to have been developed in Ancient Greece as a method to help couples' sex lives, or as a method of foreplay by what is believed to be a Priestess of Aphrodite, the ancient Greek Sorceress that ancient Muggles believed to be a Goddess, who is believed to have pioneered the study, creation and practice of rituals, potions and spells commonly referred to as Sex Magic. It should be noted however, that the spell was originally intended to be used on fully Bonded, married adults. If cast on people who are not bonded to each other, or other witches or wizards, then there is a very strong, almost guaranteed possibility of the Bonding process forming, and leading to rapid completion, far sooner than what would be considered normal. _(See other reference material for details on Bonding)_ It is for this reason, that some have speculated the true intentions of the spell’s creator was to create a spell that assisted in the creation of the Bond between a witch and a wizard, who did not want to wait for the Bonding to develop over time. Hence the name ‘The Gift of Aphrodite’. The reason it was added here was because of the potentially lethal side-effects leading to its classification as a Curse._” Huh, looks like you were right Luna, this spell _was_ meant as a spell for foreplay_. _Or as a spell to help accelerate a Bonding for those who were impatient._” _Daphne said, before continuing to read.

_However, evidence would suggest the spell went wrong, or was not properly crafted, leading to the side effects listed above that were not accounted for and could not be reversed. The spell soon became regarded as a curse once the fatal side-effects were known, and later found prominent use in countries to the far East whose rulers routinely kept Harems, this curse was believed to be instrumental in forming some of the earliest ones._ Morgana’s sagging tits!” she growled.

Susan nodded, pointing further down the page. “Look here, it says there’s a counter curse: _A counter curse was later developed, however, it should only be used as a last resort, as it causes a complete state of sexual dysfunction and leaves the subject unable to become physically, emotionally or mentally aroused, leaving wizards completely impotent and unable to father children. Lust potions have been shown to have no effect at countering this. It also shuts down a witch’s menstrual cycle, inducing Menopause._…Well…fuck…” then she looked at her friend, who’s eyes were wide as they read the text over, just to be sure she hadn’t misread it.

“You think that’s what Draco is hoping will happen? That they’ll find out about the counter curse and use it before reading the effects?” she asked, Daphne shrugged. “That’s a possibility, but any use of this counter curse, especially on the last surviving member of an Ancient and Most Noble bloodline and house like the Potters, would effectively be Line Assassination, if it’s done before Harry has any kids. And besides, I can’t imagine either of them would be willing to face a lifetime without sex when they’re still so young.”

Susan paused, then she stood. “I’ll just go and see if I can find that other book, what was it? _‘The Magic of Making Love’_ huh, interesting title…” Daphne and Luna watched as she disappeared into the Restricted Section, Daphne casting a quick notice-me-not so no one would see her go in, or come out. After a few minutes, she came out with a thick red leather-bound book in her hands. “Got it, ok, hopefully this will have some more information.” She said as she slipped it into her own bookbag.

“Hopefully you’re right, com on…we need to show this to Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey, they’re not going to like this…and poor Hermione is going to have a fit!” she said, marking the page with a leather bookmark, she then closed the book and slipped it into her back as she stood, Susan following her, as they turned and headed for the door, their new friend Luna following close behind, a serene smile on her face.

It was good to have friends.

**-=-=-=-=-**

** _Hospital Wing, sometime earlier._ **

Hermione opened her eyes and groaned. Her stomach _hurt_, her limbs felt like lead and her head felt so fuzzy and clouded that she could barely think clearly. She blinked a few times, then, with effort, lifted her hands and weakly rubbed at her eyes.

Grimacing, she rolled onto her side, though it took a _lot_ of effort, then she slowly pushed herself up, until she was in a sitting position. She looked over at Harry, who was laying on his bed, sleeping, though there was a noticeable tent in the bedsheet about where his hips were. Hermione would have blushed, but she didn’t have the strength, but she was dimly aware of her own arousal, her nipples were hard still, her breasts particularly sensitive, and she’d given up wearing knickers since yesterday. Her thighs were wet, as was the bed, it would definitely need cleaning. Hell, her _nightie_ was wet in places, and she sighed in frustrated anger as she slowly, laboriously worked the cotton garment up past her waist then over her breasts, then over her head, and threw it to the floor, leaving her sat naked on her bed.

If Harry woke up now and saw her, if he’d be lucid enough to even perceive her, she honestly wouldn’t care that he’d be seeing her naked, hell, she’d lean back, spread her legs and let him ogle her. She was so _horny_ she’d let him do anything he wanted. _Anything._

She considered getting one of the House-Elves to bring them some breakfast, because on top of feeling hornier than she’d ever felt in her life, and almost half dead from exhaustion, she was _so hungry!_ She didn’t care at this point that she thought their treatment amounted to slavery, she just wanted to _eat something!_

For some reason, she couldn’t take her eyes off the tent of Harry’s bedsheet, and she found herself licking her lips, her mouth suddenly filling with saliva, which she used to wet her throat. She stood on unsteady legs, and took a step towards him, then another, and her knees gave out, and she collapsed with a grunt, resorting to crawling the final few feet to the bed, then pulling herself up. It wasn’t comfortable on her knees on the floor, so, with more effort, she pulled herself up onto the bed. Panting with the exertion, Hermione could already feel sweat beginning to form on her forehead. She got up into a kneeling position, straddling Harry’s legs. Reaching forward, she gripped the sheet and pulled.

Slowly, Harry’s bare torso came into view, then the boxer shorts he was wearing, and the tent formed by the erection within. With almost shaking hands, she slid her fingers into the waistband, then pulled. After a few firm tugs, his erection sprang free, and Hermione Granger got her first up-close and personal look at a living, flesh and blood penis.

For a few moments, she just stared at it, slowly licking her lips, her stomach growling, her hunger and arousal seemed to spike as she looked at it, she could tell, just by looking, that her initial estimate of his size was close: five inches long, nearly two inches thick, and very little tapering along the length. At its base there was a thick patch of dark hair. The swollen head, the outline of which she could just make out, was hidden beneath a cowl of skin. And for a moment, some small, barely lucid part of her mind silently sent a prayer, thanking Lily and James for not letting a surgeon take a scalpel to it. She also noted that it had been pulled taught by the glans beneath it, and the very tip, was just barely visible.

Her heart now pounding in her ears, breath coming in short and heavy, Hermione reached out and gently took Harry’s shaft in hand, while holding herself up with her left. She gently ran her fingers over it, exploring, feeling the soft skin that was warm to the touch, almost hot, and moved under her fingers, and the hard flesh beneath it. She didn’t even realize she’d started to lower her head until her nose became filled with the warm musky scent of male. A smell that was both generally male and uniquely _Harry_. The smell sent a shiver of lust through her, and she felt her clit throb impatiently, and her vagina spasm with desire, her muscles acting on their own, clenching as if desperately trying to milk the penis her hand was holding. A fresh wave of heat rolled over her from between her legs, followed by even more wetness, but she didn’t care anymore.

All she could think about was the organ she held in her hand, less than an inch from her face. And as she pulled the skin back, gently rolling the foreskin back, exposing the swollen glans, her nose made contact, and she closed her eyes, and _breathed in._

“Mmmm……” the purring moan that reverberated in her throat, and even down into her chest, sent a thrill through her. By _Merlin!_ He smelled _good!_ Good enough to _eat!_ She opened her eyes, or at least, half opened them. And took another look at the shaft, taking note of the blood vessels that ran along its length, she hadn’t quite pulled the foreskin all the way back from the glans, but she felt that didn’t matter, as something brushed her barely conscious mind, an instinct, an _urge._ A desire to do something she’d never done before, and never dreamed she do with _Harry_. And that something, that desire, that _urge _was to…

_Suck._

_Swallow._

_Drink._

_‘Wait…what?’_ she thought, barely registering it though as her right hand gently moved up then down, stroking the shaft with a gentleness she didn’t know she had, all the while, the thick, musky scent of him filled her lungs and brain, filling her mind with lustful thoughts and ideas. Then she lowered her head and pressed her nose into the base of his shaft, then slowly brought it up, keeping the tip of her nose in contact the entire time as she took deep, slow breaths.

When she reached the glans, she continued down, breathing in his unique masculine scent as she felt herself getting more and more overtaken by lust the more she sniffed, until she reached his balls, taking a moment to run her fingers over them and gently stroke them, she leaned down and took another deep breath, then opened her mouth, and pressed her lips to first one firm orb, then the other, in a gentle, open-mouthed kiss.

She mewled, letting sort, high-pitched whimpers of lust escape her as she planted open-mouthed kisses over his testicles, then up the length of his shaft, kissing from every angle, her tongue occasionally darting out to give soft licks. The taste danced on her tongue, stoking the fires of her lust even more. When she reached the crown once more, she started to lick and kiss it, even wrapping her tongue around it, as much as she could, then letting his foreskin slide over her tongue, then pulled it back down again. She pulled his foreskin down and licked around the corona, then she started to run her fingers over Harry’s scrotum, just as her lips parted, and her head dropped that final distance, and her wet lips slid over the head of Harry’s shaft, until they closed behind the corona, meeting his foreskin, his glans rested on her warm, wet tongue, and she _sucked. Tasting_ him_._

_‘Oh my god…’_ she thought, the last part of her barely lucid mind coming through again. _‘I’ve got Harry’s penis, the actual _head_ of his penis in my mouth…and god…it tastes…_Good!_’_

Hermione let her head descend lower, taking the first couple of inches into her mouth, getting what she comfortably could take nice and coated with her saliva, she closed her eyes, and _moaned._

After nearly a minute of just holding half of Harry’s shaft in her mouth, on her tongue, she lowered her head further, until it filled her mouth, her lips sealed around the base, her nose buried in the mat of pubic hair, the head reached all the way to the back of her throat, and she had to swallow to stop herself from choking.

It was an…_odd_ feeling, having the glans of his penis being squeezed by her tongue and the muscles at the back of her mouth as she swallowed, feeling it in the back of her throat. After a few deep breaths through her nose, she tried pushing a little further, but her gag reflex kicked in and she pulled back some, then after a moment, she tightened her grip with her tongue and lips, and _sucked._

“Mmmmm……” Hermione purred, savoring the taste and feel. Part of her wondered and worried how he would react if he were to wake up while she was doing this, but the thought of him catching her doing this sent a thrill through her. And if he _didn’t_ wake up…well, that wouldn’t be a good sign.

She then began to slowly raise her head, sucking all the while, stroking the hard shaft with slow, swirling plies of her tongue. When she had about half of the length in her mouth, she used her tongue to lick his frenulum, pressing his glans against the ridged roof of her mouth. She moaned again, then pulled back, letting the organ out of her mouth with a wet ‘pop’. She opened her lust filled, tired eyes and looked at it hungrily.

It was…_sexy…hot…delicious…beautiful…gorgeous_ even. Hermione tried to sort through her tired mind to think up all the erotic endearments she could think of to describe the piece of male flesh that stood proudly before her, glistening wetly with her saliva from base to tip.

She saw a bead of clear liquid emerge from the slit at the tip, and she curiously licked at it, collecting it on her tongue. She’d expected it to be salty, as she knew from reading her parents’ medical books, that was what ‘precum’ and semen usually tasted like, depending on the boy’s or man’s diet…but she wasn’t expecting the slightly sweet taste. Tilting her head curiously, she took the shaft back into her mouth, focusing on just the head, while her right hand moved up and wrapped around it gently, and she started to gently stroke.

She resumed licking the shaft she had in her mouth, she could feel her arousal spiking. She wanted to masturbate. _Desperately_ needed to, but her frustration over the last few failed attempts, both at night and in the shower the night before had failed to alleviate anything, so she did her best to ignore it and focus on what she was doing, while she had the energy to do so.

“Mmph…Mmmph…Mmmph…” she moaned, letting short, whimpering grunts vibrate in her mouth as she started to bob her head faster and deeper, until she was drawing him all the way out to the tip, before taking him right down to the base, all the way into her throat. She knew she wasn’t an expert, and probably wasn’t doing that good a job by the standards of most of the more experienced girls in the school, not that she really had any comparisons to draw from. Every so often she’d catch some more precum on her tongue and wonder at the strangely sweet taste, it was familiar, yet her tired mind couldn’t place it.

The only sound in the room now was Harry's slow steady breathing, and the slow hungry moans, wet slurping sucking sounds coming from Hermione's mouth as she, while being exhausted, did her best to give her first ever blowjob.

Hermione quickly lost track of time, alternating between taking him all the way in and leaving him there, sucking and swallowing to cope with her gag reflex, and drawing back until just the head was on her tongue, sucking and enthusiastically licking. She even worked her tongue under his foreskin as she rolled it back over his tip, doing her best to wrap her tongue around the glans, giving it firm sucks. It was while she was doing this that she felt it swell a little, before it seemed to pulse, and her mouth was suddenly filled with a thick, warm, viscus liquid.

Hermione stopped dead as she felt Harry climax in her mouth, sealing her lips around the tip to prevent any leaking. She licked and swirled her tongue around him, giving him a few more sucks to get as much out of it as she could, as the semen settled in her mouth and the taste finally registered in her fatigue clouded mind. And her tired eyes bulged with surprise.

“Mmmph! Mmmph…Hm?” she squeaked in shock as the taste finally hit her, and she tried to logically associate the flavor her taste-buds were telling her, and what she _knew_ she had in her mouth, and how it _should_ taste, but _didn’t._

_‘Why…Why the hell does his…his semen taste like…Cauldron Cake?!’_ she asked herself mentally. Pulling back, she looked down at the slick shaft as she let it fall back against his pubic mound. She swirled the semen in her mouth, mixing it with her saliva, then she swallowed, gasping for breath as soon as she could.

The _instant_ she felt the warm liquid settle in her stomach, she felt a wave of energy _surge_ through her. Within seconds, she felt stronger and more awake than she had since Thursday, before she and Harry had been cursed. Her mind was suddenly clear, her brain no longer fogged by fatigue, her body no longer feeling weighed down. She sat up and looked down at herself. At her naked body, and she ran her hands down over herself, letting them settle over her stomach. Then she rubbed her face. Grabbing her wand, she conjured a small mirror and looked at her face. The darkness under her eyes was gone, she looked like she’d just had a good night’s sleep. She felt awake, alert. She felt…_great._

“What the _hell?!_” she said, her eyes going wide as she looked down at the erection resting on Harry's lower stomach, still covered in her saliva, and she felt her own fanny pulse.

“Her…mione?” Harry's groggy voice startled her and she turned to face him, eyes wide as she felt her face heat up with a deep blush. Had he seen her? Did he know what she’d done?

Harry was looking at her with half-lidded eyes, his expression one of utter _exhaustion._ “You’re…ok…how?” he asked brokenly. She blushed harder and averted her eyes, not sure how to tell him, or even if she could.

She then heard footsteps approaching the door to the Hospital Wing, and she panicked, standing up, she bent to grab her nightie and throw it on, then quickly covered Harry with the bed sheet, before she sat down on her own bed, running her hands through her hair as the door opened.

-=-=-=-=-


	5. Finding a Cure...of a sort pt 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the second part of the first smut scene. As i said last chapter, i won't be writing a scene as detailed as these every time one of them is intimate with someone, just every now and then, or if there is more than one for the first time, or something.
> 
> Thanks for all the Kudos and feedback.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy.

**Chapter 5: Finding a Cure…of a sort pt 2**

Hermione barely got herself straightened out and sat on her bed before the door to the Hospital Wing opened, and Daphne, Susan, a blonde girl wearing Ravenclaw robes she didn’t recognize, Madam Pomfrey and her Head of House walked into the room. The concerned expressions on Daphne's and Susan’s faces disappeared and were replaced by shock as the came to an abrupt halt upon seeing her.

“Hermione! You’re…are you…?” Daphne said, her eyes wide as she looked her friend up and down. Pomfrey stepped past her and drew her wand and started to run it over Hermione.

“I’m…uh…I’m ok Daph.” Hermione said, her cheeks coloring slightly as her expression became one of nervousness. Daphne and Susan exchanged a wide-eyed look, the as-yet unidentified Ravenclaw standing with them was eyeing Hermione with a calm, dreamy, but also knowing smile, which made Hermione blush a little more.

“Hm, odd, I’m not detecting any trace of fatigue in you Miss Granger, most of your hormones have also returned to normal levels, though you still seem a fair bit…uh…” Pomfrey paused, not sure what to say with such and audience.

“Horny?” Susan asked with a smirk, giving her friend a knowing look.

“That’s not the professional term I would use Miss Bones.” Pomfrey admonished. McGonagall stepped forward, eyeing her student carefully. She certainly _looked_ better, she didn’t look half dead, and was sitting up and talking properly. She looked at Harry, who was watching them as best he could, but he looked awful, he looked like he was about ready to pass out.

“Miss Granger, I feel it best that you explain what has happened here. In Pomfrey’s office, if you would.” She then turned and headed for the room in question. Hermione paused and gave Harry a worried look, he gave her a weak smile and a faint nod. ‘Go ahead.’

Once they were all seated, Daphne spoke up first. “Ok, Hermione, Professor, we’ve…found something.” She eyed Susan and Luna, wondering how Hermione was going to take the news of what they’d found, she had a pretty good idea it would not be taken well.

“You found a cure?!” Hermione said, excited, her face brightening with hope and joy.

“Of a sort…but first, introductions. Hermione Granger, this is Luna Lovegood, Third-Year Ravenclaw, she helped us go over the details of the curse we found.” Susan said, gesturing to the dreamy looking blonde who was looking at her with large, slightly unfocused eyes, and if Hermione was honest with herself, it was a bit un-nerving.

“Hello.” The girl said in a dreamy voice.

“Uh, hi.” Hermione replied, a little awkwardly, not quite sure what to make of the girl.

“How are you ok Miss Granger? Last time I saw you, you were barely able to sit up, let alone stand, move around and talk so freely.” McGonagall asked. Hermione blushed, not sure how she could tell her head of house what she’d done.

“She sucked his willy and swallowed his sperm.” Luna said casually, as if she were describing something as common rain shower. Everyone stared at her in shock, Hermione's face changing several different colors, which was rather impressive, given that she was also doing a fairly good imitation of a fish out of water.

“Miss Lovegood!” McGonagall said, scandalized that such an accusation would be made about one of her best lions. “Uh…I…” Hermione said, not quite sure how to respond. She had no idea how this strange girl had figured that out, but the looks on her friends’ faces seemed to indicate they’d also come to that conclusion.

“You say you’ve found something?” McGonagall asked, trying to change the subject, at least for the moment, just as Pomfrey came in from performing her check on Harry.

“Uh…yeah…I managed to swipe the book Draco got the curse from, and me, Susan and Luna read through it. We also got hold of the book the curse references, to see if there’s any more information in that, though we haven’t had a chance to look yet.” Daphne said, as she reached into her bag and pulled out the black leather tome and set it on the table.

“’The Dark Arts of Sex Magic’? Where did Mr Malfoy get this?” McGonagall asked, eyeing the book wearily as Susan opened it to the marked page, then turned it so Hermione, Pomfrey and McGonagall could read it.

“From the Slytherin Library, not the Malfoy Grimoire.” Daphne replied, watching Hermione's face carefully as she read the text, her mouth moving as she read the text, before she stopped, and her eyes went wide.

“Wait a minute! This can’t be right! It…” she said, emotions waring for position on her rapidly paling face. “_’At least once every 12 hours’_?! there’s no way I can…” she stopped, her face going white.

McGonagall was scowling, her face a mask of fury as she read over the effects of the curse, and what the requirements were for alleviating it.

“Wait! It says here there’s a counter curse!” Hermione said, her voice full of desperation, the look of hope on her face quickly changing to one of horror. “WHAT?! A _Sterilization curse?!_ That **_CAN’T_** be the only way to stop this!” she said, her voice rising with panic, as she started to breathe more rapidly, and tears started to pool in her wide eyes.

McGonagall was seething as she formed her mouth into a tight line as she read over the curse, and noticed Hermione's increasingly erratic response. Obviously, they couldn’t use that counter curse. Doing so now would amount to Line Assassination, which, she suspected, was what Draco Malfoy had been hoping for. The little bastard. _This_…This was something she could take to Amelia. Conspiracy to commit Line Theft or Line Assassination would be enough to see Draco expelled, if not serving, at the bare minimum, 2 years in Azkaban. _Attempted_ Line Assassination could earn up to at least 5 years, 10 to 15 at most.

She looked again at Hermione, and mentally sighed as she realized that Luna was correct with her assessment, regardless of how blunt it had been. Her gaze then moved back into the Hospital Wing proper and she looked at Harry, and her eyes narrowed at what _he_ would have to do…what they were _both _going to have to do…_several_ times a day…to avoid ending up back here. And from the look of him, it was clear to her that he had not done that yet. She wasn’t sure how Hermione had figured it out, or even if she had before she started reading the book.

Another realization occurred to Minerva McGonagall, and she wanted to _growl._ She would have to arrange alternate accommodation for them both within Gryffindor Tower. She wasn’t even sure if either of them were dating anyone, and she certainly doubted they were dating each other, but because of this damned curse…they would now be forced into living close-quarters, and forced to do things together that, under normal circumstances, she would have to discourage, especially considering they were both still underage, both legally and in terms of the age of consent, which she knew was 16 in the muggle world, though in the magical world, it was 15, so only Harry was a potential issue there, at least until the following summer. She would have to have a talk with both of them.

Her gaze returned to Hermione, and she noticed the girl had put her elbows on the desk and buried her face in her hands.

“_’You’d better get used to giving head Granger, because that’s what you’ll be doing for the rest of your life.’_ He _knew._” Hermione moaned. Everyone looked at her.

“What? What do you mean?” Susan asked, reach out a hand to place it on her friend’s arm.

“Draco. That’s what he said, well, _yelled_, just before he fired the curse at me. He was aiming at _me_ specifically. He _knew_ what this curse would do to me…what it would…force me to do…to survive…” her words became a choked sob as she finally looked up at them, her eyes red as tears started to fall down her cheeks, though they could also see the arousal burning in them. Her next words were said as she barely managed to hold back from crying.

“I…I…I don’t know if…if I can do this…!”

Susan and Daphne were on either side of her as she began to curl into herself and both of them enveloped their friend in a tight hug as several whimpers escaped her.

“We’ll make that limp-dicked bastard _pay_ for this Hermione. I don’t care _what_ influence his father has over the Board, or the Ministry. He’ll _pay._” Daphne growled as she hugged her crying friend, her gaze going out the window to the bed where Harry still lay, and she realized that it wasn’t just Hermione who would be forced to do this, and the full weight of what she and Susan had discussed in the library with Luna finally started to sink in, and she thought hard.

_‘Could I do that? Could I really offer to help them with…_that?_ I don’t even know Harry that well, could I honestly…let him, let them _both_…lick me? Merlin! How would I be able to _face_ them in class?!’_

“We’ll figure something out Hermione.” Susan said, rubbing her friend’s back.

“What the hell are we supposed to do?! I mean, what do we tell our housemates when they start to notice something? Because they _will!_ You guys KNOW nothing stays secret in this castle! As soon as the rumors start flying, people will start talking. I can already picture what they’ll be saying about us. How the hell are we supposed to…uh…manage this?! Are we supposed to keep a schedule or something?!” Hermione said in a rant, her emotions swinging from anger to fear and frustration.

“Do not worry Miss Granger, I’ll arrange alternate accommodation for the two of you, which should allow you both the…ahem, ‘privacy’ you will need for managing this…condition…the two of you have.” McGonagall said, not feeling particularly comfortable. “As for your housemates, I will talk with them, and impress upon them that they are not to spread any malicious rumors, or there will be consequences.”

“What will we do if one of us is…uh…unavailable or…um…_unable…_” Hermione paused as she started to blush while wiping her eyes, then drew in a breath and continued. “…to…_help_ the other?”

“What do you mean?” Susan asked. Hermione gave her a look.

“Well, there are factors to consider, low arousal for one, simple tiredness, any number of emotional or mental distractions, my ‘time of the month’, hell, even time itself is a factor! What if we can’t find the time during the day, after meals? I highly doubt we’d have time between lessons, unless we’ve got free periods.”

Daphne snorted, “Well, I don’t think you’ll have an issue with ‘low arousal’, Hermione. Harry is a teenaged boy, boys our age pretty much have sex on the brain. As for your ‘time of the month’ well, the curse’s description does say that you can get what you need from…well…_anyone_, not just someone else who was cursed. The fact that _both_ of you were cursed just means you both have a convenient means of dealing with it. So if the time isn’t ‘right’ for you, then he could ask someone else to uh…_help_ him.” Hermione snorted.

“Yeah, _right._ Could you _imagine_ the gossip once witches realize Harry is diving under their skirts? To say nothing of what will be spread about _ME_ once word gets around; That I’m dragging random boys into broom closets to suck them off several times a day! How could I look _any_ of the boys in our house in the face again after doing something like that?! This is **_EXACTLY_** what Malfoy **_WANTED!_** For me to become a cock-sucking **_SLUT!_** And you’re assuming Harry would even be _willing_ to dive under a random Witch’s skirt. Not to mention, how many girls here would seriously be willing to drop their knickers so he can go muff diving?” Hermione asked, either forgetting or not caring that her Head of House was right next to her.

“I would.” Luna said casually, adjusting her wand behind her ear. The other five witches stared at her.

“What?!” Hermione said, eyes wide. Luna nodded.

“If you’re not available to give Harry what he needs when he needs it, due to conflicting schedules or other potential obstacles, then I will happily let Harry lick my vagina until he gets what he needs. Though you really should let him feed from your vagina first Hermione.”

The others stared at her. Hermione's face flushed red at Luna’s words, even McGonagall was blushing a little, not used to such open discussions of sex with teenagers.

“And as for him not being ‘willing’ to, well, he doesn’t really have a choice in the matter.” Susan said, trying to ignore Luna’s offer to ‘help’ Harry, remembering her misinterpretation of Daphne's statement. “If neither of you feed from each other or anyone else, then you’ll soon find yourselves back here. And I don’t think you want that. Besides, Luna is right, the _only_ way you could be up and about as you are, is if you’ve already…_fed_ from him, and he’s going to have to feed from you, or one of us, before he can get off that bed and walk out of here, because he won’t be leaving under his own power any other way.”

Hermione sighed, blushing as she buried her face in her hands again. “Oh god! I really have to, don’t I.” she mumbled, sounding defeated. “And I doubt he’ll be strong enough to get into any sort of position, so I’m probably going to have to, _literally_…sit on his face!”

Daphne nodded sympathetically, gently petting her friend’s hand.

“And _how_ am I going to explain this all to him before I do it? I can’t just walk in there and _mount_ him! And that’s assuming he’ll even be _conscious_ enough to understand what I’m telling him! Or even…_do what he needs to do!_” Hermione huffed, desperately trying to clamp down on her arousal, which was still raging, and had only seemed to have gotten worse with the topic of discussion. Then another thought occurred to her.

“And on the subject of him being ‘willing’, you’re wrong Daph, Harry is NOT like most boys our age. I’m pretty sure he _doesn’t_ have sex on the brain 24/7.”

“Why?” Luna asked. Hermione looked at her, her gaze suddenly hardening, and for a moment, Luna thought the girl was angry at _her._ But she wasn’t.

“His…_Relatives…_And I use that term _very_ loosely. I would be _highly_ surprised, downright shocked in fact, if they taught him _anything_ about sex. Hell, if they told him _anything, _they probably told him that sex outside of marriage is wrong, and that any form of sex that is not solely for the man’s benefit or for the act of getting a child is ‘abnormal’, and if what Harry has told me about them is any indication, they probably haven’t even giving him ‘the talk’ yet, if they ever _would._ That’s if they haven’t literally beaten any and all concepts of sex and sexuality out of him already. Though to be perfectly honest, from what I’ve been told of him, Harry's uncle isn’t the most attractive of men, I’d be surprised if his aunt has touched her husband since their son was born.”

“What do you mean?” Susan asked, eyes widening, a sinking feeling forming in her stomach. Hermione turned her glare on McGonagall.

“You should know Professor, you write the acceptance letters, don’t you?”

“I only sign them Miss Granger. If you remember, I had-delivered yours.” Hermione nodded. “I remember. Tell me, do you also write the addresses on them? Or check them before they’re sent out?” McGonagall shook her head.

“They’re addressed by the Headmaster and a complex tracking and location charm. Why?”

“Do you know how many he got?” Hermione replied, her eyes narrowing to slits at her Professor’s response, and what it implied. _‘He knew.’ _She realized, steeling herself, she got ready to drop a bombshell.

“A few…I know Albus said there were trouble with the first few.”

“One-Hundred and Eighty-One. In total. Including the one Hagrid hand-delivered to him on his 11th birthday.” Hermione said, her anger starting to rise.

“WHAT?!” everyone cried.

“How…_why so many?!_” Susan asked, aghast. Hermione looked at her.

“The first forty or so were intercepted and destroyed before he could read them. When his family tried fleeing to a hotel, they arrived in time to find _100 letters_ waiting for him at the reception desk. But that’s not the reason I asked you if you personally address them Professor. The _reason_ I asked that specifically, is because of what was _written on the first envelope!”_ they could clearly tell she was getting angry now, the blush of embarrassment on her face was rapidly being replaced by a flush of rage.

“_’Harry James Potter, the cupboard under the stairs, No 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging.’_” Hermione air quoted.

Silence.

“_WHAT?_” Susan practically shrieked.

“How…_WHY?_” Luna asked, her large eyes completely round, a look of incomprehension on her face as she tried to fathom what Hermione was saying.

Susan and Daphne exchanged horrified looks, their eyes wide, both unable to grasp the notion of someone treating a child, _especially_ a relative, so cruelly.

“Simply put. His relatives _HATE_ magic in all it’s forms. They consider magic ‘un-natural’ or ‘freakish’. I’m not sure of all the details, but I know they treated him very badly, and for the first 9 years he spent there, since November the first ’81 until the day he got his first letter, he lived in a _god damn cupboard!_”

“_I warned him…I WARNED him…I WARNED HIM!”_ McGonagall’s snarling outburst startled all of them and they turned to look at her. Her face was red with fury, she looked as if she would start hissing and spitting like a cat at any moment, but what surprised them were the tears in her eyes.

“Minnie?” Poppy asked, momentarily forgetting decorum.

McGonagall sighed and closed her eyes, pulling in her snarling maternal instincts.

“I spent the whole of the First of November watching that house…that…_family._” She spat the last word as if it was something _vile._ “I TOLD Albus they were the _WORST _sort of people, _COMPLETELY_ unsuitable to care for Harry, but Dumbledore _insisted._ He _insisted_ that Harry had to stay there, as he had no other living family.”

“He had Sirius!” Hermione growled, drawing gasps from the other three girls and Pomfrey.

“But…wasn’t Sirius Black the one who…” Susan started.

“NO!” Hermione snapped, looking at Susan fiercely, causing the girl to flinch. “**_THAT_** was Pettigrew! Though we didn’t find that out until the end of last year. Sirius is Harry's Godfather. He would _never_ have handed the Potters over to Voldemort.” She snapped, ignoring the flinches from the others.

“He wasn’t even given a trial! He was just thrown in Azkaban on purely circumstantial evidence, but that’s not the point here. The point is, Harry _had_ to have had other magical family, even if they weren’t related to him. I’m sure there were many families who would have taken him in.”

“You are right Miss Granger, there were, such as the Longbottoms, but they were attacked shortly after the Potters. I will not say more on that, as it is not my place. I argued this very point with Albus that night, he assured me his muggle relatives were the best, and only option. And regarding Sirius Black, he was already in custody by then. But I WILL be bringing this up with Professor Dumbledore later today.”

“Getting back on topic…no, I’m not sure how Harry will react to all this…but I have a feeling he’s going to try and fight it, and probably try to avoid uh…’feeding’ as much as he can…get away with, in fact, I’m actually afraid he might deliberately refuse to do it. It’s all part of his psyche, his _‘upbringing’_ if it can even be called that.”

The girls exchanged looks.

“Want us to help you?” Susan asked. Hermione shook her head. “No, no, I can do it.” Then she paused and reread a portion of the text. “What’s this other book mentioned here? _‘The Magic of Making Love’_?”

“_Another_ book on Sex Magic?” McGonagall asked, raising an eyebrow as Susan pulled a red leather book from her bag and set it on the table.

“According to the first book, _this_ one focuses on the _positive_ aspects of Sex Magic, of which there are apparently many.” She said, as they all crowded round. Pomfrey snorted, “That is debatable Miss Greengrass.”

As Hermione opened the book and looked at the first animated drawing, she had to do a doubletake. “Is that _her_ foot by her ear or his?” no-one was able to tell either way, so they kept leafing through the book.

“Huh…this looks interesting…_”The hidden benefits of being a Parselmouth: Cunnilingus and You!”_ Harry’s a Parselmouth right?” Susan asked. Hermione nodded as she looked through the chapter and how it described the use of Parseltongue to orally stimulate a Witch to a powerful orgasm, and in the process, perform a temporary power boosting ritual on themselves. Daphne waggled her eyebrows at Hermione, giving her a knowing look.

“Bet you can’t wait to tell Harry about _that_ little trick…Just imagine if _you_ were a Parselmouth Hermione, you’d be able to make him _cross-eyed._” Hermione's face flushed red as she bit her bottom lip, as she tried, _desperately_, not to imagine what that would feel like, knowing Harry would want to try it as soon as he learned of it.

“I would not mind if he tried it.” Luna said. McGonagall cleared her throat, causing all of them to flush with embarrassment. “_Focus_ please ladies.”

“Shouldn’t Hermione be…uh…taking care of Harry?” Susan asked. Hermione shook her head “I want as much information first before I do.”

“So you’re definitely gonna do it then?” Daphne asked. Hermione huffed.

“I don’t really have a choice! He has to lick _someone _if he’s ever going to get off that bed, so it might as well be me. Although this is _NOT_ how I envisioned my first sexual experience going…” She tried to focus as they continued to leaf through the book. Eventually, they found something.

“Here it is! _‘The Gift of Aphrodite’_ hmm, _“The instructions on how to perform this spell are no longer listed in this book, following the discovery of the fatal side-effects the spell has. However, information on it’s history and possible methods of treatment are listed here.”_ Well, that’s encouraging.” Luna said.

“Treatments are good.” Hermione agreed, as she leaned over to read the text. “Hm…_”While it is not possible to completely reverse the curse without causing permanent physical or psychological damage…”_ oh bugger…_”…it may be possible that, over time, the affected Wizard’s and Witch’s bodies and magic _might_ adapt, reducing the number of necessary feedings from daily, to several times a week. However, this may not always be the case.”_ Well…that’s…_less_ encouraging.”

“What about using potions to bypass the effects?” Susan asked. Pomfrey sighed “There’s no telling which potions would be effective. And taking too many stamina potions can be detrimental. As their effects are accumulative, and with excessive exposure, a person could quickly become _dependent_ on them, and become addicted. Same with lust potions. And the _last _thing you want is to be a potion addict. Since the withdrawal symptoms are _not_ pleasant.” She paused, collecting her thoughts, then continued. “It would also not solve the nutrition problem. Yes, I could try mixing the various nutrients, vitamins and various other extracts into water, but that takes time, and there’s no guarantee that the curse’s magic would not interfere.”

“What is Bonding?” Hermione asked, looking up. The others were silent as the three girls looked at each other, and Minerva and Poppy exchanged a look. “The first book and this one both mention it, and it says here that…_”This spell, if cast on an unbonded couple, has a strong possibility of greatly accelerating the process…”_ I’ve never heard of this.”

“Seriously? You’ve never heard of Bonding? Surely one of your dorm-mates has mentioned it by now.” Susan asked, before looking at Professor McGonagall and Pomfrey, the latter of whom sighed again and rubbed at her eyes, she looked like she was starting to get a headache.

“Muggle-borns and Muggle-raised are typically not told of the Bonding until their fifth year, or until they turn 15, which ever happens first.” Pomfrey said. She then looked at Hermione “I’m sorry Miss Granger, I should have told you when you first returned to Hogwarts, but it slipped my mind.” She watched as Hermione marked the page with the curse written on it, before she started flicking through the book again.

“Children raised in pure-blood families on the other hand, are usually told sooner, though they are strongly encouraged not to start the process with anyone until they turn 15 OR unless they are absolutely sure they’ve found someone they want to bond with.” Daphne said, Susan, Luna and the women nodded in unison.

“That is true, Daddy told me a few years ago, just before I started Hogwarts, although he was careful to use age appropriate terms.” Luna said.

“Hm, shouldn’t it be best if Harry is awake for a discussion on Bonding? Seems to me that this is also the sort of thing he needs to know. Plus it would save you from having to go through it twice.” Susan said. Hermione rubbed her eyes and sighed, her face reddening. “You’re right…I need to get this over with, can’t keep stalling.” She then stood, placed her palms on the table and took a deep breath, muttering to herself.

“You can do this Granger…it’s for Harry…he’s your best friend…you’ll do anything for him…_anything…_Gryffindor Courage…Gryffindor Courage…Gryffindor Courage…” she then turned and looked at Pomfrey. “Um…Madam Pomfrey, could I…uh, talk to you in private for a moment?” she said, her face so red now the girls were starting to feel concerned.

Pomfrey nodded and stood, following her out of the office. McGonagall also stood, picking up the black book as she did so. “I will be holding on to this for now, and I will keep looking through it to see if I can find anything. Although I should probably take the other one, I believe Miss Granger will want to study it more. You three are free to remain here if you wish, unless there are other things you need to be doing, in which case I’m sure Hermione and Harry will find you once they’re both…back on their feet. DO NOT discuss what has happened here with anyone unless or until Hermione and Harry say it is ok for you to do so.” She said firmly, giving each girl a look. They all nodded. “Very well. Poppy?” she said, stepping out of the office, noticing her friend once again tending to Harry as she heard the shower start to run in the bathroom. Poppy looked over at Minerva.

“I’m going to sort out alternate accommodations for Mister Potter and Miss Granger, _then_ have a ‘chat’ with Albus. Let me know when they’re both back on their feet.” And with that she turned and headed out of the room, wondering how much she should tell Albus, and a thought occurred to her _‘What about the summer months? There is no WAY Harry would survive at the Dursleys.’_ She stopped as that thought occurred to her, she needed to come up with a plan.

-=-=-=-=-

Nervous was not something Hermione would call herself in the situation she now found herself in. Oh no, she wasn’t nervous, she was _terrified._ And embarrassed in the _worst_ possible way. While she wasn’t going to be losing her virginity today, at least that wasn’t the plan, she was still struggling with the notion of doing something so sexual with someone she wasn’t in a relationship with. While Harry was her best friend, and she did love him, and was willing to do anything for him, she wasn’t actually _in love_ with him, she didn’t love him romantically.

But…_could_ she?

She knew that basing a relationship solely on sex was a terrible idea, and would be doomed to failure, but as she’d just admitted, she did love him, as a friend, and she trusted him with her life, and she knew he trusted her with his, they’d have to, after the last three years, and true relationships were built on mutual trust and respect, and they were about to become lovers, in a sense, even if they did not have actual intercourse for a long while, she was sure their friendship would grow, given time.

_‘Well, we’re certainly going to get a lot of that…’_ she thought.

She stepped out of the bathroom, after some last-minute quick preparations, namely a _very_ quick shower, followed by the very quick breakfast that Pomfrey had brought up earlier, but she hadn’t spotted until she’d left the office.

As she approached Harry's bed, she noticed the privacy curtains had been drawn around it, and Pomfrey stepped out of the curtain, and gave her a once over.

“Normally, I do not approve of such activity within my Hospital, however…it seems neither of us has a choice in the matter. I’ve given him his breakfast, cleaned him up as best I could, as well as a Pepper-up potion, so he’ll be a bit more…lucid. I did not tell him that we’ve found a…_solution_…I thought it best if I left that to you to explain.”

Hermione nodded gratefully, her stomach suddenly turning in knots as the enormity of what she was about to do, and what it meant, finally hit home fully.

“Hermione…We’ll find another way to help you two…get through this. I promise. I just wish this was not necessary.” Poppy said, gently taking the girl’s arm in-hand, her eyes softening. “Did you have any trouble with…” she trailed off, noting Hermione's face blushing again as she shook her head.

“Uh…no…I…I took care of it, thanks. I’ll have to remember that charm, and maybe teach it to Harry.” She gave an awkward smile.

“Ok, I’ll be in my office with the others if you need me.” Pomfrey said as she left Hermione to her plan.

Hermione steeled herself one last time, grabbed as much Gryffindor Courage as she could, then took the final step and opened the curtain and stepped inside.

Harry was laying on his bed, his eyes open, though he looked just as he did when he’d been asleep earlier when she’d…well. He turned to look at her, his eyes widening as she reached down and placed a hand on his shoulder, then she leaned over to give him a better look at her.

“Her…Hermione?” Harry asked, his tired eyes widening slightly as he tried to take her in. “You’re…ok…How?”

“Yes, I’m ok now. Listen Harry, Daphne, Susan and a Ravenclaw called Luna found the book Draco used for the curse. It’s called ‘The Gift of Aphrodite’, with me so far?” he nodded. She licked her lips and continued. “Well, apparently, the magic of the curse keeps us from absorbing nutrients from any food and drinks we eat or drink, except maybe water, which is why we’ve been having water the past couple of days.” He nodded slowly.

“O-Okay…” he said, not sure what to make of that.

“It also forces us to feel increasing fatigue no matter how much sleep we get, along with…uh…increasing amounts of other _‘urges’_, and if we don’t mitigate the effects at least once every 12 hours, we’ll start to feel like we have these past few days. Though the more we…er…mitigate it, the better off we’ll be. Though there is a possibility that our bodies and magic may adapt, and cut down the amount of…er…feedings, we have to do, though that’s not a certainty.” Harry blinked at her, trying to process everything.

“Cure…?” he groaned out. Hermione sucked in a breath.

“There _IS_ a cure…of a sort. But unfortunately, it’s not really viable. This is sort of a ‘The Cure is worse than the disease.’ kind of scenario.”

“Don’t…care…I’ll…manage…”

“Harry! The ‘cure’ is a Sterilization curse! Using it on you now would be considered in any magical court as Line Assassination! Even if Pomfrey did it to save your life, someone could turn around and accuse her, and if convicted, she’d face _life_ in Azkaban! It would also leave you permanently impotent, with no way to reverse or counter it, so it would leave you unable have children, hence the ‘Line Assassination’ bit. It also shuts down your libido and leaves you mentally and emotionally incapable of feeling anything even _remotely_ sexual. And at our age, that would be horrible.” Hermione said, suddenly horrified at the idea of Harry willingly subjecting himself to that.

Harry shrugged as much as he could. “Well…better than starving to death.”

“Well, what we have now could basically be described as a magical medical condition, so we have to use a regime of uh…_treatments_ to manage it_._ That’s how I managed to get better. I sort of…uh…already started.”

“How…?” Harry asked, feeling there was a ‘but’ coming.

“It’s…The curse basically holds the nutrients from our food and drink ‘hostage’, until we…swallow the sexual fluids of someone. Basically semen or vaginal fluids…” Hermione said, her face going red. Harry stared at her, not quite comprehending, then what she’d said sank in, and his eyes widened slightly as he looked her over.

“You…?” he asked, his expression unreadable. Hermione bit her lip and nodded, blushing.

“Yes…I’ve already started…I…earlier after I woke up…” Hermione didn’t finish, and she wouldn’t meet his eyes. _‘Gyffindor Courage Granger! Look him in the eye and admit you sucked him off!’_ her inner voice snapped.

Harry's eyes widened a little more as what she said registered, then he looked down the length of his body to his hips, which were starting to tent again. Damn teenage refractory period!

“So…how many times…” he said, looking up at her, she met his eyes, and he saw the determination and resolve in them. He also saw something else. Desire. Longing. _Lust_. She was _horny_, he could tell just by the look in her eyes, the way they dilated as she looked at him.

“Once every 12 hours at the very least, but the more the better so…I guess we could try to work out a schedule or something…” she said, finally meeting his gaze, and channeling all of her resolve, silently begging him with her eyes to agree, since this was the only way that could be worked at.

“So…I have to…” He said, Hermione nodded.

“Yes. You have to drink the fluids produced from a witch’s vagina during sexual arousal and climax. And I have to drink a wizard’s sperm. And well…since I’ve already done that…it’s only fair that you get to drink from me.” She said, she felt her arousal spike again, she’d lost count of how many times that had happened today. Before he could respond, she reached down and gripped her nightie, and pulled it up.

Harry blinked, his eyes going wide in wonder and surprise as his best female friend stripped naked next to his bed. He let his eyes roam over her front, taking in the view of her smooth pale legs, her flat stomach, her small B-cup breasts as they came into view, flushed dark pink, each capped by a brown areola and nipple. As she dropped the garment and stood there, he let his eyes roam up to her face, which was also flushed with color. His gaze moved back down to her crotch, and he blinked in surprise.

“Completely…shaved?” he asked, she bit her lip and nodded.

“I did it for two reasons. One, it’s more hygienic, and two, I didn’t think you’d want a mouth full of hair.” She said, as she reached down and started to pull the blanket down his body, towards his waist. Harry took a moment to properly get a look at her slit; completely smooth, just like the mound above it, her lips were slightly parted with arousal, letting him see some of what they hid. He could also see them glistening wetly with moisture, swollen and darkened with arousal. He felt a surge of his own shoot through him at the sight of it, and his hardon returned full force. When he breathed in next, he caught something that made him stop for a second as he realized. He could even _smell_ her, and she smelt…_good,_ and he felt his mouth start to water. He couldn’t really see much of her inner lips, but he was at least thankful that he knew she had them, as he’d been forced to listen to his dorm-mates bragging about the girls they had been with, while they ignored him, of course.

He could also see a small nub of flesh, dark pink and swollen, at the very top of the slit, he wasn’t quite sure what it was, but he figured she’d tell him. Not for the first time, he found himself cursing the Dursleys for neglecting his education, though he did remember some of the things they’d told him, like what they were doing now was wrong on every level. But honestly? He didn’t give a rat’s, especially Wormtail’s, arse about what his ‘dear aunt and uncle’ would think. Hell, he was sure he’d never get this help at Privet Drive. He didn’t know how bad it could have gotten, but he figured it was bad.

Hermione straightened up, then smiled down at him shyly, and then slowly turned ‘round, letting him see her back. Harry found himself smiling as he got his first close-up look at Hermione's firm, tight ass.

_‘Jesus Christ…she’s _Gorgeous!’ he thought, he wasn't sure where that expletive had come from, but he'd heard it said around the Privet Drive neighborhood.

“Wow…” he said. Hermione felt a shiver run through her at the sheer _awe_ in his voice, and as she turned back around, she could see the naked wonder, admiration and _desire_ burning in his tired green eyes. She smiled down at him.

“Why thank you very much Harry. It’s nice to know you find me attractive.” She said.

“How could I not?” he said, “Hermione, you’re beautiful, _gorgeous_ even.”

“Thank you.” She said shyly. “May I…?” she asked, gesturing at the bed.

“Uh, sure, just let me…” he began, trying to shuffle over, but she put a hand on his shoulder.

“You don’t need to move Harry, I’ll take care of all the moving, you just need to lick.”

He nodded faintly, then she brought up her left leg and put it on the bed, next to his shoulder, then, leaning on the headboard for balance, she lifted her other leg and swung herself over him, until she was bent over him in a crouch, her feet on either side of his shoulders, then with a little repositioning, she was on her knees, legs spread wide. She looked down her front at him, into his wide, lust filled, and _hungry_ eyes. She felt her face flush even more and a shiver of arousal ran through her again. “Let me know if…it’s too much, and I’ll pull back. See my clit there? Don’t go for it right away, focus on the area around it first…but when I start to get close, either suck on it gently or use your tongue in my vagina, ok, here goes…” and with that, she lowered herself down until she felt his warm breath wash over her wet lips and she shuddered, before she lowered herself that final inch until she felt him kiss her lips, then shuddered as she felt his tongue brush experimentally against her wet slit and she gasped.

“Oh! _Oooohh! That’s nice…_”

Harry couldn’t _believe_ what was happening. He’d woken up to find Hermione on her feet and perfectly fine, as if nothing had ever happened, well, _first_, she’d been kneeling on his bed over his legs, he’d _thought_ that she’d been completely naked, and that he was almost naked and that his dick was wet, but his half asleep mind hadn’t been able to connect the dots, then Pomfrey had come in and given him some breakfast, and a quick sponge bath, which if he was honest, had been a little humiliating, since he didn’t have to strength to get out of bed.

Then Hermione had come back after a while, told him they’d found a solution, that he’d have to lick her pussy, and she’d _already_ sucked him off, then stripped naked and climbed on his bed, over his face, and was now perched there, his mouth pressed against said smooth lips. He wasn’t wearing his glasses, but that didn’t matter, with her perched naked on his face, he could see all of her that he needed to just fine. And he was doubly sure about his earlier opinion. She looked _gorgeous._ She smelled _wonderful_. And she tasted _sweet._

_‘Wait…huh?’_ he thought, as he slowly dragged his tongue over her smooth lips, feeling them spread around his tongue, along with her inner lips, and he felt her juices coat his tongue, and the taste registered in his brain. _‘Huh? Why does her fanny taste like Treacle Tart? I’m pretty sure that’s not how it’s supposed to taste…mmm…it’s good though, and she smells nice too.’_ He took a few deep breaths through his nose, her feminine scent filling his sinuses and lungs, and he tried to place it; musky, heady, slightly earthy, but sweet with a unique fragrance to it that just seemed to read as _Hermione Granger_ in his head. Oddly enough, it reminded him of parchment, leather and old wood.

If he were honest with himself, he would be happy smelling that unique scent all day. He moaned and hummed, the vibrations traveling up into her body making her shudder and gasp. He smiled to himself and sucked her lips into his mouth and he started to lick them again, collecting more of her juices on his tongue.

“Ugh!...Oh…_Harry!_ Oh _yesss! _That’s it…you’re doing—oh!” Hermione gasped as she arched her back as she braced herself against the wall, her eyes rolling back and closing as she moaned in pleasure, feeling his tongue brush through her lips up to her clit, and following her instructions, he started to lick around it. Panting, she opened her eyes and looked back over her shoulder, spying the erection standing proud from his crotch, she grinned then looked down at him just in time to hear him swallow, and she saw his eyes widen, and she knew his strength had started to return.

“Looks like you’ve…got a bit of a _problem_ Harry…want me to…_take care_ of it for you?” she felt his lips turn into a smile and felt him nod slightly. “Ok…hang on.” She then raised herself up, then slowly stood, before turning round, then lowered herself back down into a crouching position, this time facing his feet. She then settled back down on her knees and leaned forwards, until she was on all fours, taking a moment to examine him, then quickly sat up and reached for her wand, which she’d placed on his side table next to his, then she leaned over again, pointed her wand at his crotch and gave it a gentle swish as she muttered the same Depilatory charm she’d used on herself, she then gave another flick of her wand and smiled at her handiwork, then leaned down to kiss the now smooth flesh round the base of his shaft as she felt a pair of hands gently take hold of her butt and pull her hips back until Harry's mouth met her slit again. Looking back over her shoulder, she caught a glimpse of his arms next to her hips, and she grinned, pushing back against his face, then she returned her attention to the now smooth male crotch before her, and leaned in.

Harry moaned again as he felt something hot and wet close over his shaft, the strange tingling sensation he’d just felt quickly forgotten with the realization that he was in Hermione's _mouth._ He redoubled his efforts to lick his best friend’s fanny, as he found himself eye-level with her firm butt, and he took his time admiring the firm globes of flesh now in his hands as he started to gently stroke and massage them, getting a clear view of the tight ring of her anus as he started to lick and suck at her labia again, he even started working his tongue between her inner and outer lips, and judging from the muted squeak she gave, and the vibrations on his cock, he guessed she liked that maneuver.

He'd been very surprised when he’d swallowed that mouthful of juice and saliva that for some reason, tasted like his favorite food, Treacle Tart. He’d been even _more_ surprised when, right after he’d swallowed her juices, he felt strength wash through him, and he was suddenly able to lift his arms, which he wrapped around her in a tight hug, then gripped her butt with his hands and spread her cheeks, and moaned into her body at what he saw. He never figured he’d be an butt man, but he’d be damned if she didn’t have a nice one.

Remembering what she’d said, he moved his tongue up to the entrance to her vagina, and gently circled it, feeling her twitch and shake, before he slid his tongue as far into her as he could, and again, his taste-buds were bathed in the delicious flavor of Treacle Tart. After a moment of deliberation, he mentally shrugged, then redoubled his efforts, watching in fascination as the puckered ring of muscle between her cheeks started to twitch in time with her vagina as he felt her try to squeeze his tongue, and in turn, he squeezed her cheeks. He’d also noticed that some of the fatigue had also left him, but not much. _‘Huh…weird…’_ he thought, then lost all capacity to think as he felt Hermione's mouth leave his shaft, before he felt his balls being lifted by a hand, then felt her mouth engulf one of them, and gently begin to lick and suckle on it.

_‘Oh Merlin! She’s…she’s sucking my balls…? I didn’t know she’d…do…that…oh wow…that feels…_Good!’ he thought, before he pulled on her hips, pulling her pussy back onto his mouth, trying to get deeper.

Hermione moaned as she gently lavished attention on the delicate organs, licking, kissing and gently sucking on each in turn, while using her other hand that wasn’t supporting them to stroke his shaft. After a couple of minutes, she switched back to his penis, planting open-mouthed kisses all over its length, before moving up to the head and licking every part she could, catching several beads of precum on her tongue and swallowing them.

She knew it wouldn’t take long, since she was so turned on, even though he’d been at it for a few minutes, she was surprised she hadn’t come already, though she wasn’t sure how long it would take him, since he’d already come, not too long ago, she silently hoped that the urban legends around teenage virility were true, she didn’t want them to be here too long, after all. Deciding to move things along, she took him in her mouth and started sucking while stroking him. She wiggled her hips and pushed back a little, trying to coax him, he seemed to get the message, and she moaned as she felt him start to lick around her clit again, pressing firmer this time, he even gently started to explore with a finger.

He curiously probed further, until, round about the second knuckle, his finger met a barrier and he felt her stiffen, and his eyes widened, before gently backing off, pulling back so he could get a good look at her, panting as he felt her relax and start to suck him in earnest while he used his fingers to gently open her lips, and get his first good look at her. Her labia were flushed and swollen, her vagina was wide open and pulsing, juices trickling out of it like honey, down over her lips and swollen erect clitoris, though he had no idea yet that that was what it was called, thanks to his relatives teaching him practically _nothing_.

“Don’t stop! Please Harry! I’m so close!” Hermione's desperate plea came as a gasp as she lifted her head and started stroking his shaft, aiming it at her face. She pushed her hips back towards him and wiggled them a little. “_Lick_ me!” so that’s exactly what he did, he started licking her slit from top to bottom, feeling her body twitch each time he licked the small nub of flesh. He started to hungrily suck her juices into his mouth, eagerly swallowing, feeling a little stronger and less tired each time. He then wrapped his lips around her clit and sucked it into his mouth, out from under it’s protective hood, at the same time, he felt Hermione take his entire length into her mouth and the back of her throat, her muffled cry of pleasure vibrating along his shaft.

When he felt her tense, he opened his mouth again and sealed his lips to her vulva, pressing on her clit with his bottom lip, then she squealed, and his mouth was flooded with more of that sweet-tasting fluid that _still_ tasted like Treacle Tart as Hermione's body shuddered and she let out several muffled moans as she shivered on top of him, pressing her body down against his, pressing her still climaxing pussy into his mouth. As he swallowed it, he felt _all_ of his fatigue finally leave him, along with all of his hunger, and a surge of strength ran through him.

He blinked in surprise, pulling away from her wet, soaking fanny and gasped, running his hands up and down her warm back as he suddenly registered his own climax that was almost on him. He’d been so focused on Hermione and giving her pleasure, and apparently getting his strength back, that he’d completely missed the climax he’d been building to. Had he really been so out of it that he’d missed most of it? Sure he’d felt her sucking on him, but his climax had seemed to come out of no-where, pun intended.

“Her—Hermione! I…” he tried to gasp a warning, but she either didn’t hear it, or didn’t care. He felt her press her mouth into the flesh around the base of his shaft, his glans pushing into the back of her throat as she _clamped_ her lips tightly around him and _sucked._ Harry grunted, he felt his shaft pulse as his climax hit, and he also felt the beautiful naked girl on top of him hungrily swallow every single drop, not even bothering to collect any on her tongue.

_‘Wow…’_ was all Harry could think, as Hermione moaned, then slowly drew up, sucking all the while, drawing out as much of his nourishing, life-giving seed as she could, before she released him from her mouth with a wet ‘pop’, then lay on him, panting. “Thank you, Harry…that was…phew! That was wonderful! I _so_ needed that!” Hermione said as she lifted herself off him then swung herself to the side and sat on the bed next to him, sitting up, not even trying to cover herself as she turned and smiled at him. The change in her was very telling, and if anything, she looked even _more_ invigorated than before she started, if that were possible.

“How was that for you? How are you feeling?” she asked, taking note of how _alert_ and _awake_ he looked. Harry blinked as he reached for his glasses and slipped them on. “Fine, _great _actually. Better than I felt in days…you said this was the cure? That all I had to do was…uhm…” he blushed as he looked away, embarrassed.

“Well, it’s more of a ‘treatment’ than a cure, since what we have now would be considered a condition that has to be managed.” Hermione said. “How’d you like the blowjob? At least you were awake for this one.”

Harry's face turned _red_, he still wasn’t looking at her. “Uh…well…I was so focused on you that I barely noticed it until I was about to…uh…”

“Cum?” she asked with a smile, he nodded. “Well, I’m sure you’ll have plenty of opportunities to enjoy it.” She said giving him an impish smile.

“Uh…are you sure we’ll have to do this again?” Harry asked.

“Yes.” She said with a sigh, the smile fading.

“How often?” He asked, finally looking at her, though he didn’t let his gaze fall lower than her shoulders.

“At _least_ once every 12 hours…but…the _more often_…the _better._” She said, as she stood then bent over, giving him a _perfect_ view as she picked up her clothes that had been cleaned and folded for her, just as his had been. “Come on, lets get dressed and meet with the others, and we can talk more about this.”

-=-=-=-=-


	6. Explanations, Reactions, Revelations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey people! Happy late Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate it, hope you all had a good one.
> 
> Things are starting to move along, the First Task is coming up shortly. I'll do my best to get the Yule Ball chapter out in time for xmas :) though I can't promise anything concrete. I had planned to have the Dragon revelation scene at the end of this chapter, but since Rowling apparently didn't know how to read a calendar properly, i'm forced to use real-world dates for ease of writing (as much as it can be, i'm also using the HP lexicon to keep track of events as best i can, and changing the dates when necessary. So the Dragons will be appearing next chapter, i'm not saying the first task will be next, i don't know, i'll see how it all flows as i write it. I did consider changing the Horntail to something else, something a bit more exotic, but decided that in the end, what i have planned should be unique enough, i think (and hope) you'll all enjoy it when it comes.
> 
> I have noticed however, that there are sometimes notes also added at the end of the chapter, even though i didn't set any, which is weird.

**Chapter 6: Explanations, Reactions, Revelations.**

A few moments later, Harry was sat in Pomfrey’s office trying not to feel too awkward with Hermione's friends in the room, two of them wearing knowing smirks, the third, a Third Year Ravenclaw had a serene smile on her face, she looked almost as if she were daydreaming.

Pomfrey pulled them both to one side and ran her wand over both of them, muttering diagnostic spells. “Hm, all of your vitals seem to have normalized Mister Potter, just as Miss Granger’s did earlier…that is, rather interesting. For now, you seem to be just fine.”

“Sooo…” Harry said, eyeing the red book on the desk. Then looking up awkwardly at the three other girls.

“Sooooo…Harry! How was your first time Muff Diving?” Daphne said, giving him a cheeky grin. Hermione gasped as she stared at her friend in open-mouthed shock. “Daphne Greengrass! Don’t make me wash your mouth out with soap!” Hermione said, giving her friend a fierce glare, even though she was blushing just as badly as Harry was.

“Er…It was…er…” Harry wasn’t sure how to respond to that, especially when Hermione turned her fierce glare on _him._

“’Invigorating’, I’d say.” Susan quipped, sitting back with a knowing smile on her face, Harry's blush deepened.

“Can we talk about something else _please?!_” Hermione said, fixing the two of them with a look.

“Ok Hermione.” Luna said, as she moved to open the book at a certain page. “I believe you wanted to discuss this?” Hermione nodded, seeing what the chapter was.

_‘Bonding. What it is, how it works, what to expect.’_

“Er…what were you girls talking about while Hermione was…” Harry asked, leaning forward.

“Sitting on your face?” Susan asked, toying with a few strands of her hair as she grinned at him.

“_Susan_…” Hermione growled through her teeth. Susan gave her an innocent look. “What? You _said_ that’s what you would have to do.”

“Let’s just see what this book says about Bonding, shall we? Since Harry and I don’t know about it.” Hermione huffed as she pulled the book to her so she and Harry could read it.

“Ok, it says here…_”Bonding, typically the only form of Sex Magic considered legal in most Magical communities around the world, is usually performed between a Witch and a Wizard who are at least 15 years of age or older, and requires a pre-requisite that said Witch and Wizard have to have some level of affection between them. Note, artificial affection, such as those that result from potions, can also trigger it.” _WHAT? That means that _anyone_ could trigger this Bonding with anyone else just by using a Love or Lust Potion!” Hermione spat, outraged.

“That’s true, though in those cases, if the Potioneer doesn’t keep up with the doses, there’s a strong chance the Bond will fail.” Daphne said. Hermione then continued.

_“The Bonding has several benefits, among them being synchronizing the couple’s Magics and strengthening emotional connections. There are also some theories that it may also impart a soul-bond that links the souls of the two together, and also may impart an empathic bond, allowing the two to sense each other’s emotions, though this is rarely documented.” _Huh…interesting.”

“There is more.” Luna said, “Keep reading.”

“…_”The Bonding process is initiated first by the Witch, who must perform Oral Sex on her chosen Wizard and swallow the resultant discharge at least three times a week for a full year, during this time her magic synchronizes with the Wizard’s, and her side of the Bonding fully forms and stabilizes. Nine months after the process is started, the Witch will begin to lactate—**WHAT?!**”_

Her outburst startled Harry, who had been trying to follow along as best he could but had got a little distracted at about the part concerning the number of times the witch would have to give head.

Hermione's face turned several interesting colors as she started to read, a little louder than before, incredulity clear in her voice. _“…the Witch will begin to start lactating, and the Wizard will be required to drink the produced milk to solidify his part of the Bond and finalize it, in preparation for the final act of properly forming and permanently establishing the Bond. The final act being the first act of Sexual Intercourse the couple participate in. The Witch will be able to tell when the Bond is strong enough that it can be made permanent in this way. Note: Other forms of sexual intercourse do not affect the final stabilizing of the Bond, and Oral Sex merely strengthens it._

_A fully Established Bond does not guarantee the two will stay together for life however, nor does it ensure that if they were to marry, that the marriage would last, it just makes that outcome more likely._

_It should also be noted that although the Bonding requires at least 3 instances of oral sex performed on the wizard per week to start the process and maintain it, the more often it is performed, the faster the Bonding will happen._

**_WARNING:_**_ Performing the Gift of Aphrodite spell on an unbonded couple will _dramatically_ accelerate the speed at which the Bonding occurs, once it begins, the Bonding can fully establish and stabilize to the point of being ready for finalization (consummation) within a range of time between three months down to **THREE WEEKS?!**”_

Hermione looked up, eyes wide as she stared at her friends and at Harry, blushing slightly then looking at Pomfrey, who was looking at her sympathetically.

“Uh, care to run that by me again Hermione?” Harry asked. Hermione sighed at turned to him.

“It _means_ Harry, that once we start Bonding, _if_ we do, then what would _normally _take about a year, could take anywhere between 1 to 3 months. So if we started the process now, I could end up producing breastmilk as early as the 8th of _DECEMBER!_ Instead of August next year, as I would otherwise, without this damn curse playing a part!” she snarled.

“Uh…how often would you produce?” he asked, feeling very uncomfortable. Hermione paused, wracking her brain. “Well, if I were nursing a baby, I’d be constantly producing, which would naturally allow me to feed the baby several times a day, and night, but since this is a magically induced state of lactation, with the curse affecting me on _top_ of that, it’s impossible to say. Though, to be on the safe side, let’s just say I might have to have them drained daily.” She turned and gave Harry a meaningful look, his eyes widened, face flushing. “A—Are…Are you…Sure about that?” he asked. She rolled her eyes.

“We’re already going to have to depend on each other, as well as anyone else we’re willing to ask to help us, to meanly _survive_ Harry, this will just be a little extra. Besides, there _may_ be a possibility, slim mind you, that the Nutrient blocking aspects of the curse might not affect breastmilk, though I’m just guessing here, but if my theory is right, you’d at least be able to get _something_ out of my milk, maybe not _everything_ you’d need for a balanced diet, but still…” Hermione said, still trying to wrap her mind around the notion that, if they started the Bonding soon, she’d probably start producing breastmilk within weeks, and she started to picture herself with swollen, sore breasts, in near constant pain, needing someone she trusted, most likely Harry, to relieve her.

Harry blushed some more, trying _desperately_ not to think about what she’d just said and implied. He couldn’t remember being breastfed by his mother, and he honestly wasn’t sure how to feel about the idea of regularly feeding from Hermione. An involuntary shudder went through him, and he started to think. _‘Could he really do that? Could he really suck on her breasts and actually…drink her _milk?_ And the other thing…could I really do that again?’_ he tried not to think about what he and Hermione had just done on the bed, but he couldn’t help it, and he felt himself start to stiffen again. _‘Oh bloody ‘ell!’_ he thought, trying to ignore the memory of what Hermione felt like laying on top of him, skin to skin, what she smelled like, and what she _tasted_ like, and he felt his hardon get so hard it almost _hurt._

“Are you ok Harry?” Susan asked. Harry looked at her and tried to answer, but it came out as little more than a faint squeak. He started to take notice of just how good-looking Susan was, she had a nice round face, shining brown eyes that were a shade darker than Hermione's, filled with curiosity and worry. Her dark red hair in a plait draped over her right shoulder. But her face wasn’t all he noticed; his eyes traveled traitorously down her front, no matter how hard he tried to stop them, to her chest, which, even under her robes and uniform, was clearly quite ample, clearly larger than Hermione’s, even for a Fourth Year. Susan smiled a little flirtatiously as she realized where his eyes were and she sat back, pulling back her shoulders and thrusting out her bosom. “See something you like Harry?”

“What?” Hermione blinked, looking up from the book at her friend.

_‘No! Nope! NIEN!’_ Harry mentally yelled at himself, feeling his face flush with embarrassment and horror as an image entered his mind of him cupping those covered mounds, gently caressing them and suckling on them, wondering what _her_ milk would taste like, what her breasts would feel like wrapped around his…_’STOP! IT!’ _he mentally screamed at himself, visibly cringing as he tore his gaze away from Susan, only to land on Luna, who sat between the redhead and the second blonde, Daphne.

Luna was also looking at him, with a curious intensity, the daydream expression on her face gone, her grey eyes focused. Her dirty blonde hair ran down her back as she looked at him, and again, his eyes started roaming of there own accord. He tried to shut his eyes, but he found he couldn’t, to make matters worse, Luna sat back then pushed out her chest towards him, her words only half registering in his suddenly arousal swamped brain.

“How do my breasts compare to Susan’s? Or Hermione's since you’ve already seen hers?”

_“WHAT?!”_ Hermione yelped, staring at them, her gaze going back and forth between Luna, Susan and himself.

“He was staring at Susan's breasts, and I was wondering what he thought of mine. I know I’m not as well-endowed as her, or you for that matter, not many in my or your years are.” Luna said off-handedly. Harry wanted to _hide._ He wanted to go back to Privet Drive, crawl back into that cupboard, lock the door, and _stay_ there.

He tore his gaze away from Luna and it landed briefly on a smirking Daphne, who had also sat back and was puffing out her chest, he quickly looked away, but his gaze then landed on Hermione, and he froze. Even with the look of incredulity she was giving him, that was slowly turning to one of disbelief, and with what he thought were faint flickers of betrayal in her eyes, he tried to reign in his raging libido, but he couldn’t. Looking at Hermione, his eyes started to roam up and down her body, taking in all the details, and he again remembered what they’d done, and his gaze involuntarily dropped to her chest, then further down. As he tore his gaze back up to Hermione's face, he saw that her expression was unreadable, and for a moment, he was truly afraid he’d hurt her feelings.

“I…I need some air!” he stood, hoping none of them would notice the tent in his trousers. Backing away from the table, he turned towards the office door.

Hermione blinked, feeling confused and worried for her friend as she saw the look of utter panic, guilt and fear cross his face as he’d looked at her, and the faint surge of jealously she’d felt at the thought of him ogling her friends was forgotten when he stood, his clearly showing distress, and she saw the very visible distortion in his trousers, which he quickly tried to hide as he turned towards the door. At the sight of it, and the memory of how it smelled, felt and tasted in her mouth still fresh in her mind, and the very stark realization that she would _have_ to have it in her mouth again soon, if not one of the other boys from Gryffindor, sent a surge of arousal through her body, and she felt herself getting wet again.

_‘Oh for goodness sake!’_ she mentally chastised herself, trying desperately to clamp down on her suddenly resurfaced lust. _‘Are you kidding me?! It’s not even been half an hour! What the hell are you Granger, a Merlin damned Nymphomaniac?!’_ she mentally raged. _‘Well, that IS what Draco was trying to make me.’_ Another part of her mind said, as she stood to follow her friend. “Wait here guys.” She said as she walked towards the office door, only passively noting Pomfrey’s conflicted look. _‘What was it he said? “You better get used to giving head, Granger.” Well, looks like I don’t have a choice, and neither does Harry.’_

“Harry?” she asked, closing the office door behind her. He was pacing, agitated, looking confused and distraught, and guilty. She felt her heart tighten at the look on his face as he turned to her.

“Hermione…I…” he said, gesticulating with his hands, shaking his head, looking like he didn’t know what to do with himself. “I’m sorry!” she blinked, head tilting in confusion.

“What? What for? You haven’t done anything.”

“For earlier! For…for ogling your friends! For hurting your feelings! They deserve more respect than that! YOU deserve more!” he began to pace again, muttering to himself. “Not right…Not right…First the bloody Tournament, now _this…_”

Hermione blind again, still confused as she tilted her head, then her eyes widened as it struck her. _‘Oh. I see. Well, looks like I was right…unfortunately.’_ “Harry, it’s ok, it’s _ok_. It’s perfectly natural to admire a beautiful girl. Actually, we appreciate it. It’s when you start leering and openly gawking, mentally undressing us that we _don’t_ like it.”

Harry shook his head, his back to her. “Not it’s _NOT!_” he snapped, turning to face her, his eyes wide and almost wild. She could see the mental and emotional war he was having with himself, saw the guilt, the self-loathing, the frustration, the _anger_. But she could also see _desire_, _lust_, and that is what he seemed to be struggling with most. She could also see the affection in his gaze when he looked at her, and the confusion.

_Had_ he been ogling Susan's breasts? Maybe just a little, but she figured he honestly couldn’t help it, she was a beautiful girl, and her natural…_assets_, were rather impressive, and when the girl had noticed him looking, she hadn’t exactly tried to hide them, Luna certainly hadn’t. if anything, the flattered look she’d briefly seen on Susan's face seemed to tell Hermione that her friend had been pleased that Harry was looking. And while yes, she _had _felt some jealously over that brief ogling, as for a moment, she’d wished he’d look at _her_ that way, she knew that helping her friend work though his troubles was more important right now.

“What do you mean?” she asked, a sinking feeling in her stomach starting to build.

“What we did earlier…what I just did in there…it’s…_not Normal!_ It’s not what _Normal_ people do!” he said, going back to pacing. Hermione stiffened; she didn’t like the emphasis he’d put on the word ‘Normal’. Her eyes narrowed as she started to put things together.

“So only married people can do what we did earlier? And what happened in there?” she asked carefully, gauging his response. He nodded, still pacing.

Her eyes narrowed to slits. She’d been _right_. And it was at times like this, that she hated being right. _‘God damn you Petunia, Vernon…What the _fuck_ did you DO to him?’_

“Yes!” he exclaimed.

“What about people who are dating?” she asked, not mentioning that they weren’t. He shook his head. “Anything outside of marriage is wrong! We shouldn’t have even done…what we did earlier! As for girls who do that sort of thing…well, Aunt Petunia usually uses words that…aren’t very nice…in that regard.”

“What about if _we_ were dating Harry? How would you feel then, if it was _us_ doing those things? Not counting the fact that if we _hadn’t_ done what we did earlier, we’d still be on those beds almost _comatose_.” Hermione said, part of her not believing what she’d just said. She also didn’t add that, regardless if they were dating or not, they’d now _have_ to do those things to survive, as she’d said before, even if not with each other. Harry paused in his pacing, looking at her, his eyes conflicted, like he didn’t know what to say.

“I…I…I don’t…” he shook his head helplessly. “I don’t know!” he cried, throwing his hands up and turning away.

“Well I do.” She said determinedly. “If we were dating, I would very much like to do more of what we did earlier, ignore for the moment the fact that we now _have _to, if you were my boyfriend, you would have my permission to look at me as much as you’d want, to kiss, hold, caress and cuddle me as much as you want. Forget the Dursleys. Forget _everything_ they ever taught you! Because their views are _incredibly_ skewed and outdated, and I’d bet a _lot_ of money that one of them is having an affair with someone else on the side, if not _both_ of them!”

Harry shook his head, going back to pacing, continuing to rant. “I _heard_ you Hermione! Friday morning! I woke up really early during the night, and I heard you…ya know…and…I’m _sorry!_” he cried out, turning to face her and she felt her heart tighten again at the look of complete shame on his face, the tears in his eyes. “I know I shouldn’t have listened! But I couldn’t help it!”

“You…heard me?” Hermione asked, blushing, despite the fact that a small part of her found the idea of him listening to her masturbate hot as hell. “How much did you hear?” she asked curiously. Harry looked at her with wide eyes, searchingly, looking for any trace of the anger he’d seen earlier, but found nothing. “Uh…you were complaining about it…not working, and that was the third time…” he said awkwardly, looking away.

Hermione's face felt hot, and she couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face as she cast her mind back to that night, and the failed attempts at getting her raging body to calm down. The several following attempts in the shower hadn’t worked either. Then a thought occurred to her and she looked at him.

“What about you Harry? Did you try to…ya know?” his face flushed and he shook his head. “I did in the shower Thursday night, but later in bed, when it got hard again…no, I didn’t, and the rest of the time I was too tired and hungry.” He paused, looking up at her and sighing again. “Besides, it isn’t _Normal_ for me to—” Hermione cut him off with a raised hand.

“You said _‘Me’_ that time, instead of _‘boys our age’_. Would I be right in assuming that everything the Dursleys told you was wrong about sex was specifically in reference to _you?_” she asked, an unpleasant feeling in her gut. He closed his eyes and nodded. “I know it’s not normal touch it and stuff, or for it to get hard, but I can’t—” Hermione cut him off again, stepping closer.

“What if I told you it _is_ perfectly _Normal_ for boys and girls our age to masturbate? What if I told you it _is_ perfectly _Normal_ for boys our age, younger and older, to get erections when they think about or see girls that they think are beautiful. What if I told you it was perfectly _Normal_ for girls to get hard nipples, slightly swollen boobs and wet pussies whenever we see an attractive, handsome boy we like or think about? When we think about dragging said boys into Broom Cupboards?” she paused, taking a step towards him, her anger fading, her tone becoming sultrier. “What if I told you it would be perfectly _Normal_ for us to do what we did earlier? For me to get down on my knees, pull your pants down and take your hard dick in my mouth? I’ve already done it _twice_ today, and I’m going to do it again later today. And tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after _that._ Yes because I _have_ to, but also because…” she paused, catching her breath and collecting her thoughts.

“…Because I _want_ to. Even IF you hadn’t also been affected by the curse, and it had been just me, my options would be limited, there are probably two or three boys in our year who I’m sure I could count on to help me and not take advantage of me, maybe more, I’m not sure, and two among the Sixth Years, and boys who I trust implicitly, close enough to trust them not to brag to their dorm-mates, that is at _least_ two. And you are at the top of both lists.” She paused again, then continued, trying to ignore her own surging arousal that had started to burn while she’d been reading the book, but had spiked during the conversation.

“The others would be Neville and the Twins, though Neville I think has started to court Hannah, and the Twins…well, I’d trust them to help me, but it would get awkward around the Burrow, and while I don’t _think_ they’d brag…” she trailed off, not wanting to think ill of two of the only six other students in the school, including herself, who believed him innocent of cheating. “Your options are a little more varied. I’d imagine three quarters of the student population of Third Years and up would be more than willing to drop their knickers and spread their legs if they knew the reason you were asking them, if you ever did. And if not that many, then there’s at _least_ four who would be willing to, three at least. I’m one of them, the others are all in there.” She finished, gesturing over her shoulder with her thumb.

Harry stared at her, not quite sure what to make of what she’d just unloaded on him.

“Uh…what about Ron?” he asked, she shook her head. “No. Not after everything he’s done. Yes he helped you save me from that Troll in our First Year, and helped you reach the Stone, but _he_ was responsible for me being in that bathroom. Second Year, he laughed at me after my Polyjuice mishap. Last year he raged at me over your Firebolt, even though what I did was the sensible thing to do, and he relentlessly persecuted Crookshanks, thinking he'd eaten his Death Eater rat. Then there’s _this_ year, and him turning his back on you almost immediately after your name came out of that damn Goblet. I’m sorry Harry, I know he was your first friend in this society, but, if he doesn’t change his attitude, I think we’ll have to seriously reconsider him as friend material. Like I said, for me to get what I need, I’d feel most comfortable coming to you first and foremost, even if it were only me going through this.” Then she smiled somewhat “And I hope that you’ll come to me first and foremost, but I’ll understand if you don’t always.”

Harry raised an eyebrow. “Is this your way of asking me to be your boyfriend?” he asked. She shook her head. “Not really, basing a relationship on sex is NEVER a good idea, and what we’re dealing with now would also count as that, technically. I guess the best way to describe us for now, would be ‘Friends with Benefits’, and if not by the end of the day, then I strongly suspect that by the end of the week, we’ll be sharing private quarters, while we deal with this. And I DO care for you Harry, a lot, but is it romantic? For me, not right now. Would I like it to be in the future? Of course, but it won’t happen overnight, though I suspect that our close living conditions for the foreseeable future, will help us get to know each other on a more personal level.” She said, and Harry nodded.

“I see what you mean…I mean, I do care about you…but everything the Dursleys told me, what little they did, and the views they instilled in me…”

“Are totally unhealthy and completely detrimental to you. Your views on sex and sexuality are a clear example, and I hope that I, and maybe a few others, can help change your outlook.” Hermione replied. “I just want you to know Harry that, however our friendship changes in the future, however fast or slow that change is, I want you to know that you can always come to me when you need to…uh…_feed._” She said, blushing. Harry blushed too.

“Uh…thanks…you too.” He said awkwardly. Hermione stepped forward and hugged him, pressing her face into his neck as his arms went round her torso. She took a deep relaxing breath, filling her lungs with a strong musky scent that thanks to her earlier experiences, she recognized. For his part, Harry buried his face in her hair, taking a deep breath, and catching a scent of cinnamon and parchment, and a tangy, sweet musky scent that he recognized, his eyes widening as his body stiffened, and one part stiffened _more_. Hermione felt it against her hip and smiled, pulling back, she reached up to cup Harry's cheek, looking into his eyes, she could see the desire there, the sexual tension he was fighting.

“Looks like I’m not the only one fired up.” She said quietly, her voice almost a whisper. “Want me to help you take care of it?” she asked. Harry shuddered, shaking his head as he stepped back.

“No, no, I can…deal with it. You don’t have to.”

“Actually Harry, I kinda _do_. That’s the whole point, like I said. We literally _HAVE_ to drink the sexual fluids of others. I _must_ suck a penis until I get a mouth full of semen which I then must swallow. _Several _times a day, possibly for the rest of my life. And for the record, like I just said, I would prefer yours be my first choice, because I trust you. Yes this isn’t ideal for either of us, but we’re adaptable if nothing else. I’m sure we’ll manage. You will also have to do the same. Though it may be possible that we might be able to get what we need from anyone, not necessarily someone of the opposite sex, I highly doubt that will happen though, since I don’t really fancy the idea of sticking my head between a girl’s legs, and I’m sure you’d never feel comfortable with the idea of sucking another boy’s—” Harry raised his hands and turned away, barely suppressing a shudder. “NO! No…I won’t be doing that! EVER!” Hermione smiled playfully “Better not tell Colin then, he’d be heartbroken.” She teased.

“Hermione!” Harry cried, gripping his head.

“Sorry.” She smiled. “Seriously though, I can take care of it right now, if you want.” Harry shook his head again.

“No…no, I’m good…lets go back in and try and read more about that Bonding thing.”

“Ok.”

Hermione gave him a calculating look. “Harry, did your Aunt or Uncle ever give you ‘_The_ _Talk’_?” she asked. Her looked at her flatly.

“Which one? The ‘You’re an unnatural freak’ talk? All the time. Or maybe the ‘Don’t do any of your freakish things inside the house’ talk? That one too. Or how about the good old ‘Don’t use your freakish ways to cheat and get better grades than Dudley! Can’t have you robbing him of his grades.’, though that one stopped once I started Hogwarts.”

Hermione blinked, finally getting a hint of just how bad it really was at that house, and she felt a righteous surge of fury start to burn within her. “No Harry, I mean ‘The _Talk’_ the sex talk.” He shook his head ‘no’.

Hermione sighed. _‘Ok_, _better_ _let_ _Pomfrey_ _know_._’_ She thought.

A few moments later, they were back in Pomfrey’s office, the occupants all watching them closely.

“You guys ok?” Susan asked as they sat down.

“Yeah, we just needed to sort some things out, I think we got it mostly sorted, for now.” Then she mouthed to Susan ‘I was right’. Susan paused and gave Harry a sympathetic look. He met her gaze awkwardly. “Uh, hey, sorry about, ya know…” she waved him off. “Don’t worry about it Harry, you’re not the first, and you won’t be the last I assure you.”

“Ok, so where were we?” Hermione asked, drawing her attention back to the book.

“You were reading about the final stages of the Bonding and how the curse you’re under affects the whole thing.” Luna said, idly playing with her wand. “I believe you’d just got to the part about when you’re going to start producing breastmilk, and I believe Harry was wrestling with the question, and idea, of whether or not he’d be able, or willing, to drink it.” She added. “That about right?” she asked.

“Uh, yeah…that’s it.”

“Don’t worry Harry, it’s not a concern right now, since we’re not Bonding.” _‘Yet.’_ “For now, let’s focus on other matters, like what the First Task might be, and what those asinine _morons_ from the Ministry might force you to do.”

“Oh yeah…forgot about that.”

“Hm, it says here that, a highly established Bond has the potential to form a psychic link between the Bonded couple, along with the Soul and Empathic bonds, though this is rare, and is not always guaranteed.”

Just then, Professor McGonagall re-entered the Hospital wing then re-entered the office.

“Nice to see you up and about Mister Potter, how are you feeling?”

“Uh, fine thanks Professor…uh, the uh…_’treatment’_ worked.” He said, feeling very awkward. A slight smile tugged at Minerva’s lips. “Well, I’m glad to hear that Mister Potter. Poppy? If there is no need to keep them here, I’d like to take them back to the Tower. And you three, I’m sure you have other things to take care of.”

“I see no reason to keep them anymore Minerva, though I will be checking up on the two of you.” She said to the two lions, who nodded. “Alright, if there are any complications, come back and see me and I’ll do what I can.”

“Wait…uh, Madam Pomfrey…” Hermione said, blushing and casting Harry an apologetic and sympathetic look. _‘I’m SO sorry about this…’_

“Yes, Miss Granger?”

“Before we leave, I think you should have a private talk with Harry.” She said, blushing as she shot him another look.

“A talk?” Poppy asked, confused. Hermione nodded. “Yes. A _Talk_.” She said, air-quoting the word ‘Talk’ and putting emphasis on it. Pomfrey scrutinized her a little, before her eyes widened then her face became purely professional.

“I see. Very well then. I’m assuming you have already had one?” she asked. Hermione nodded. “My mum sat me down and gave it to me over the summer.”

“What are you guys talking about?” Harry asked. Susan snickered, “You’ll find out Harry, don’t worry.” Then she looked at Hermione, giving her a wink. “Looks like you’re gonna owe him one after this Granger.”

“Well, I don’t think we need to be here for this next bit.” Daphne said, standing, as did Luna.

“Agreed. Daddy told me where babies come from last year, though he was very embarrassed about the whole thing.” Harry choked. “Wait…_What?_”

McGonagall chuckled. “Miss Granger and I will be outside Poppy. Try not to traumatize him _too_ much.”

And with that, the group of students left the Hospital Wing, Susan and Daphne giving Hermione hugs, along with promises to catch up later, while Harry suffered the most embarrassing conversation of his young life. He emerged from Pomfrey’s office almost an hour later, red-faced. While he was getting psychologically scarred, Neville, Parvati and Lavender came in to check on them, her friends were ecstatic to find her on her feet and seemingly healthy. When they inquired, she said she’d explain later, when they asked about Harry, Hermione had just nodded towards Pomfrey’s office and said he was having a private conversation with the mediwitch.

“I’m so sorry Harry, but it had to be done.” Hermione said.

“S’ok.” Harry mumbled, not looking at her.

After another 10 minutes or so, they were back at the Gryffindor Tower. Minerva turned to them. “Ok you two, I’ve set up some private quarters for you in the Head Boy’s Gryffindor Quarters, just off from the Common Room. They currently aren’t in use, so I figured they would suit you for the time being. The Password for the Portrait is _‘The Circle of Life Moves Us All’_. The Private Quarters have their own Common Room, a small Kitchen area, two bedrooms with on-suite bathrooms, a small Library, a fireplace, though just like the Common Room fireplace, it can accept and make Floo calls, but not travel. There is a balcony connected to the Common Room. I advise you to choose who you wish allow entrance to the Private Quarters and share the password with them. I _strongly_ advise you not to abuse this privilege however, and by that, I mean, I expect you to still socialize and mingle with your housemates. Understood?”

They both nodded.

“Good, I’ve already had the Elves move your things, it will be up to you to decide which rooms you each want. While I did consider activating the same charm on one of the rooms that is on the Girls Dorm staircase, in which case, the door would slam shut and lock, I have not done so yet. You will need to tell me which room is yours Miss Granger, and I will see to it.”

And with that, she stepped through the Portrait hole, into the Common Room. It was deserted. Minerva walked to the right and turned down a small hallway, more of an alcove really, about 6 foot deep, at the end of it, they saw a magical painting, arranged Landscape, showing what looked to them like a sunlight African savannah, the center of the picture was dominated by a large rock formation; a towering conical rock that looked like it had been broken off a mountain then split in two, the second piece pushed into the first, with a third under that, supporting it, giving the allusion of a giant backwards stylized ‘K’ made of stone. A single male lion was standing on the very end of the K’s ‘arm’, his gaze looking out over the grassland.

“Mufasa, these are the two new residents that you’ll be looking after, Harry and Hermione.” Minerva said after tapping the painting with her wand. The lion turned its gaze to them, then nodded, and the painting swung sideways, revealing a smaller version of the Gryffindor Common Room, a fire already burning in the hearth.

“Right then, I’ll let the two of you get settled. I will make the announcement regarding your change of accommodation after Dinner tonight along with a brief reason of why, I’ll let you tell the others the specifics. Is there anything else you two need?” they shook their heads.

“Very well then.” And with that, she turned and left. The two of them looked around. “Nice. Right, let’s get unpacked.” Harry said, moving to his trunk, Hedwig’s empty cage sat on top of it.

“We should also write a letter to Sirius, let him know what’s going on.” Hermione said. Harry nodded, moving to unpack his trunk, a fluttering sound caught his ears and he turned to see Hedwig settling down on a perch over the fire.

“Hey girl, sorry we’ve been absent for a few days, we haven’t been well.” Harry said, moving to the perch and offering a gentle breaststroke. A quiet beak-click and slight finger nibble was his answer, the owl assuring him she wasn’t upset.

A jingle from the little hallway leading to the bedrooms drew his attention, and he turned just in time to see a large ball of orange fur enter the Common Room and come to a stop at Hermione's feet, where he proceeded to rub against her legs, purring loudly.

“Crookshanks!” Hermione gasped, as she paused in looking through her trunk to pick up her cat, and briefly cuddle him. Harry paused as he pulled out a few sheets of parchment and his ink bottle. “Want to write the letter first then pick a room and get unpacked?” he asked.

“Sure.” She replied, setting the part-Kneazle down on the plush couch.

Ten minutes later, Hedwig flew out of the Balcony doorway and off, heading south in the cool late morning air.

“Ok, now that’s settled, lets pick and sort out our rooms.” Harry said, grabbing his trunk. Hermione paused as she ran her gaze over him, noticing his still slightly flushed face, and as her gaze moved down, she noticed how he held his body, it was clear to her that he was still trying to hide his arousal, hiding her own had been slightly easier, though it had been distracting. _‘I really hope this won’t be a problem in class…Morgana, that’d be _awkward._’ _She thought.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to…uhm, take care of that? And you don’t need to…?” she asked, face flushing. Harry blushed and shook his head. “No…no, I’m good, thanks, you ok?” he asked. Hermione bit her lip, honestly, she did feel a little uncomfortable, not as bad as she’d felt early Friday morning, but that had also been a combination of hunger and exhaustion as well, now, it was more manageable. Plus, she reasoned, keeping busy was a useful distraction. And while part of her did want to sit down on the sofa or one of the arm chairs, lift her skirt, pull of her knickers, lean back and spread her legs as wide as she could, the mean thought just doing that…it made her a little uncomfortable.

As she thought, she began to process the full overarching consequences of the curse Draco had used, and her earlier words now came back to her with full force. While they could put it off for now, soon, within another 8 to 10 hours, they would have to do it again. Harry would have to lick her vagina again, and she’d have to suck him again, for the third time that day, so they could both take in the nutrients they’d get from lunch and Dinner, which they hadn’t even had yet.

_‘Should we even _bother_ wearing knickers and boxer shorts anymore?’_ she wondered. Then she realized she’d have to, at least during her cycle, but the rest of the time…A rush of heat came to her face as she pictured herself over the next three or four years, walking around Hogwarts, Diagon Alley and even her parents’ house while going commando. _‘I’ll keep them on for now.’_ She thought.

“Yeah…Yeah I’m fine. Let’s go pick our rooms and unpack.” She said, grabbing her own trunk and following him. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t keep her eyes from roaming over his back.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Albus sat in his office, pondering. He’d visited the Hospital wing early that morning, but apparently there had been no change. He was getting worried. The Dragons would be arriving the tomorrow evening from the preserve where Charlie Weasley worked. A Welsh Green, a Chinese Fireball, a Swedish Short-Snout, and the most dangerous of all, a Hungarian Horntail. All nesting females with recently laid clutches of eggs. Adding the Horntail last minute had been difficult, she’d just laid her clutch, and was _fiercely_ protective of them, making collecting them for transport difficult.

Replicating a fourth golden egg had been relatively easy however.

Now all he had to do was make sure Harry faced the Horntail, and that he found out about the Dragons ahead of the task. He knew Maxime and Karkaroff would help their champions, he didn’t particularly care about Cedric, or either of the other two Champions, it was all about Harry.

The best way to ensure he faced the Horntail would be to apply compulsion charms to the models of the other three, keyed to each of the other champions, to make sure none of them took the Horntail’s model. He would also ‘suggest’ to Moody that he give Harry some telling hints as to how he could beat the Task.

He hadn’t yet contacted Malfoy Senior about the supposed Grimoire, as he suspected that Draco had lied, though he had yet to hear from the Malfoy Patriarch about his son’s punishments, which was surprising. He also hadn’t yet visited the Hospital Wing to check on the two affected students, namely because he’d noticed some of the monitoring charms on his shelves that were keyed to Harry stabilize a while ago, indicating that his vitals had normalized, for now at least. _‘Very curious…Poppy or Miss Granger’s friends must have found something.’_

Hopefully it was a permanent solution.

He reached for a lemon drop just as the door to his office opened and Minerva walked in.

“Ah, Minerva my dear. Any news on Mister Potter and Miss Granger?”

Minerva nodded, “I’m pleased to report that Miss Granger’s friends came through for them and found a solution, it’s not a permanent cure, but it will have to do for now. They are both up and about and Pomfrey has cleared them to attend Classes.”

Dumbledore nodded. This was good, it meant that Harry could be prepared to face the Dragon, and following the Task, he would move forward with his plans for Miss Granger and Mister Krum. If Krum could be ‘persuaded’ to ask Granger to the Yule Ball before Harry or Ronald had a chance to, he could then suggest to Karkaroff that the girl would make an excellent Hostage for the second task.

“Oh? Only a temporary solution? There is no cure?” he asked, genuine concern entering his voice. Minerva winced.

“There _is_ a cure, of a sort, but using it now would be tantamount to Line Assassination, in regard to Mister Potter, as using it on either of them would sterilize them.” Dumbledore’s eyes widened, his mouth falling slack.

“What?” _‘Line Assassination?! A Sterilization spell? What did that impudent little brat hit them with? Obviously this will not do.’_ He thought.

“Yes, and I believe that was Mister Malfoy’s endgame; get them so desperate for a cure, that when it is found, we’d use it before looking into it.” Minerva growled. “He has to be dealt with.”

Dumbledore sighed, rubbing his temples. While part of him agreed with Minerva, he also wanted Draco to avoid heading down the same path his father took, to restore some honor to the Malfoy line. Obviously, they couldn’t use the ‘cure’ if it was something that would render Harry unable to sire an heir for the Potter line before he faced his destiny.

“What exactly was the curse Mister Malfoy used?” Dumbledore asked, almost afraid to. Minerva sighed.

“Well, _apparently,_ according to it’s description, the spell was developed as a means of a marital aid, though it seems to have had some un-intended side effects it’s creator was not able to account for or correct. There is also evidence that it may accelerate the Bonding Process once it begins, if the affected couple are not already Bonded.” Dumbledore winced.

That…was a potential problem. If Harry Bonded with Miss Granger, the odds of him wanting to Bond with Miss Weasley, and Miss Granger with Mister Weasley respectively, as he and Molly had planned, dropped significantly. Then again…

“I see. What exactly does the curse affecting them do? I assume they’re still under its effect?” he asked, keeping his voice calm. Minerva nodded.

“For now, what they have would best be described as a Magical Condition, but thankfully, the effects can be easily mitigated, if somewhat…awkwardly. The curse basically forces them to ingest the bodily fluids of someone else so that they can absorb the nutrients their systems extract from the food they eat, which the magic of the curse ‘holds for ransom’ you could say. That is why they deteriorated over the last couple of days. They were eating food, but not getting anything from it. The curse also accelerates that process.”

Dumbledore blinked, not quite sure his hearing was working right.

“Pardon? Bodily fluids? What do you—”

“_Sexual_ bodily fluids, Albus.” Minerva said, her tone clipped. Her mouth in a thin line as she regarded him. “They have to perform oral sex on each other, or anyone willing to allow them to, at regular intervals, or they will deteriorate as before, to the point where then end up in a coma, and following that, death.” She growled.

“Oh…” well, of all the things it could have been, he never saw _that_ coming.

“Yes. _Oh._ I’ve already taken the liberty of placing them in private quarters, for convenience sake and to minimize any embarrassment. I will be informing the rest of Gryffindor about this change later tonight after Dinner, though I will not be telling the students specifically _why._ I will leave that up to Miss Granger and Mister Potter.”

Dumbledore silently cursed. While it wasn’t as bad as he’d feared, it still wasn’t ideal. Still, it wasn’t a complete loss, and if anything, if worked the right way, could even work out in his favor. All it would take is for certain nudges to get the two to focus on getting what they need from others rather than each other…

It was the fact that they would now be living together under such close quarters that was the potential issue. Harry _had_ to have a relationship with, and at the very least impregnate young Ginerva Weasley, not only to secure the next generation of Potters, but to also bring stability to the Magical World, and to restore the Potter family’s standing among the Sacred 28, and finally, to bring the Weasley family out of the near impoverished state they had been in for years, and once again elevate their standing. If Harry settled down with Miss Granger, or at the very least impregnated her, then she would be able to influence the next generation of Potters more directly, along with the next generation of other magical families. Having her married to young Ronald Weasley would limit that of course.

While few would argue that Muggle-borns did not bring fresh blood into the Magical world, at least the few Pure-bloods who would be prepared to admit that, it was widely believed by many that the Muggle ideas and concepts that they brought with them upset the status quo, and the natural order of things.

Which was why Dumbledore had made little to no effort to improve Muggle-born standing within the magical world, both since World War 2 and after Voldemort’s first fall. It was also why he hadn’t pressured to have the Imperius Defense many Death Eaters had used over-turned. Having so many prominent members of the Wizengamot in Azkaban would have been a _disaster_ for the Dark Block, giving the Light and Neutral Blocks too much power, affecting the plans of the remaining Block, and elevating the prominence of Muggle-borns.

Fortunately….Albus had control of the Potter Proxy, and all of the votes it held, so he held all the sway, with most of the former Alliance of Light Houses supporting him, but if Harry ever took control…no, that wouldn’t happen, he’d convince the boy to give him Proxy properly, then Albus would take things from there.

It was also why he had not said or done anything to help Sirius. He knew the man hadn’t received a trial and made sure no-one questioned his guilt. Regardless of how Albus felt, he knew that Sirius would one day pass the Black Legacy down to Harry, as was his right as the current Head of the family, which would work out fine for Dumbledore, if he could somehow get control of the Black Fortune, he could keep it away from Voldemort, and redistribute it, along with the Potter Fortune, at least, the amount that the Weasleys didn’t spend.

He was brought out of his internal musings by the sound of Minerva clearing her throat, loudly.

“Albus! Are you listening?” she snapped.

“Yes Minerva, I hear you.” Dumbledore said, now focusing on her again.

“Then what did I say?”

“You explained the mechanics of the curse affecting young Mister Potter and Miss Granger, and you’ve moved them into private quarters, but I am given pause to wonder, is that wise? They are teenagers after all.”

Minerva rolled her eyes. Was he _SERIOUS?_ “Albus, it was either that, or make things unnecessarily awkward for them. Besides, they _already_ have to do things together, or with others, that normally I would only ever expect them to do if they were in a relationship with either each other or another individual.”

“Point.” Albus said, he just hoped the teens would be careful. He didn’t want Harry impregnating the wrong witch, after all. Then a thought occurred to him. “How often do they have to…ah…_mitigate_ their…condition?”

“According to the information we looked through in Pomfrey’s office, at _least_ once every twelve hours, but the more times the better. Which brings me to my _next_ point. The Dursleys.” She growled, almost _snarled._ Albus sighed, this wasn’t the first time she’d brought it up, and it would not be the last, he was sure.

“What about them?”

“Do you have _ANY_ idea what they’ve done to him?!” she almost shouted, her temper now fraying. “They’ve abused him in almost _every_ way short of raping him! To say _nothing_ of the emotional and psychological state they left him in! Why the damage hasn’t come to light sooner I’ll never know! They taught him practically **_NOTHING_** about certain aspects of life that are pretty much essential for all teenagers to know. I’m not entirely sure of everything they have done to him, but I can promise you this Albus! If he goes back to that family at the end of term, he’ll be dead within the first **_WEEK!_**”

“Surely you’re exaggerating. I highly doubt Petunia would let Harry perish.” Dumbledore said, starting to panic. He _NEEDED_ Harry to be at Privet Drive, not only for his own protection, especially now and after this year, but he also wanted the boy to be reliant on him, and him alone. He needed the boy malleable so he could be properly guided to face his destiny. Minerva scoffed.

“I doubt that. Highly. If not Petunia, then her husband I’m sure, would _jump_ at the chance to see Harry gone from their home. They consider him and everything he represents to be ‘un-natural’. And consider what I told you. Harry will have to consume the sexual bodily fluids of a woman or girl several times a day, at _least_ once every twelve hours, or he’ll quickly deteriorate as he did here over the past two days, slipping into a coma then he’ll die. Same for Miss Granger. I _HIGHLY_ doubt Petunia or her sister in-law would be willing to help him. As for Miss Granger, I can only hope she’d be able to find a local boy willing to help her, though I doubt she’d feel comfortable with that idea.”

Dumbledore winced. Yes, that was…a complication, he doubted Arabella would help him, unfortunately, he needed the boy to stay there, at least long enough to supply the Wards.

“I’m afraid there is no alternative Minerva, Harry MUST stay at his relative’s home, at least for a short while. Perhaps he could be moved to the Burrow, after a short while. I’m sure Molly and Arthur would be happy to take him in.”

Minerva folded her arms. “And just _WHAT_ do you intend to tell _them?_ _HOW_ do you intend to tell them? I hardly think that Molly of all people, would be happy with either of them doing that sort of thing with each other under her roof several times a day. In fact, I suspect she would go as far as trying to keep them so busy they’d never find the time.”

Dumbledore thought, carefully. If he played this right, it could work to his advantage, it would give him the opportunity to solidify a relationship and Bond between young Ginevra and Harry, and Ronald and Hermione respectively, the problem would be getting Molly to agree to the slight change in plan. While he fully intended to have Harry moved to the Burrow, or even Grimmauld Place, assuming Sirius agreed to let the Order use it, once it was re-established, upon his 15th birthday, this change would simply mean that Harry would be moving to live with the Weasleys sooner than anticipated.

“I will take care of it Minerva.”

“Good, because I would hate to have to come up with a Plan B.” and with that, he turned and left.

-=-=-=-=-

** _12 Grimmauld Place, early evening._ **

The door to the Black Family’s Private Library flew open with a _bang._ And Sirius Black stormed in, scowling. He ignored the hollering of his _beloved_ mother’s Portrait as he waved his wand at various bookshelves, and several books flew over to the reading table and he sat down. In his right hand he held the two letters he’d received half an hour earlier from Harry and Hermione, letting him know of the weekend’s events.

To say that he was angry would be an _understatement._

Hermione's letter was more detailed than Harry's, but they mostly said the same thing: That they’d both been cursed, though neither went into detail on exactly what the curse was. Only that they would tell him in person given the chance. The cure constituted Line Assassination, so now they were having to treat it like a medical condition, with regular _‘Treatments’_ that they would explain later in person if they could, and that they’d been moved into their own quarters to help with that. Hermione had also gone into detail on her theory as to _why_ Draco had chosen that spell, specifically, regarding its counter spell.

Sirius _growled._ That snot-nosed, stuck-up little _prick_ would _PAY _for this! He suddenly wished his status as the Head of House Black was legally recognized, so he could cast the little shite out of the line of succession right at that moment and _burn_ his face from the tapestry. But he couldn’t, only the next Head of House Black could do that.

He paused, then _grinned._

“Looks like a trip to Gringotts is in order. Need to update my Will…” he muttered, then started to read the books, looking for a cure that wouldn’t hurt his Godson or his friend. If Dumbledore forced Harry to go back to the Dursleys, something Sirius had _always _been against from the very moment he’d found out about it, then the old Goat could kiss any chance of using his ancestral home as the new base of operations for the Order goodbye.

He needed to catch up with Remus at some point, and go check on Potter Manor, and see how the place as doing, he hadn’t been there since just before Lily and James went into hiding…he paused, thinking. Why _had_ Lily and James abandoned the Manor and gone to Godric’s Hollow? The wards around the manor were some of the best in the country, beaten only by Gringotts’ and Hogwarts’ wards. Something about their sudden snap decision did not sit well with him, and he decided he’d have to investigate it.

He looked at the wall clock, it was early evening, Dinner was probably just about starting, he idly wondered what everyone was doing up at the castle, wishing he could Apparate up there and investigate as Padfoot, but it was too risky, there were not many, if _any_ dogs around Hogsmeade, so if he were spotted, it would likely raise suspicion.

After nearly 40 minutes of fruitless searching, he sat back and sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. He needed to write and send replies to their letters, he knew if he sent them now, Hedwig wouldn’t make it back to the castle until sometime during the night, meaning they’d get the replies first thing.

He contemplated what he’d do for the rest of the night, he didn’t really fancy spending the night here, he couldn’t really drop in on Remus this late, so…looked like a night out on the town in Muggle London for good ol’ Padfoot.

Maybe he could find a couple of stray bitches to spend several hours with. He wasn’t _completely_ sure of the legalities, but, he reasoned, it surely couldn’t be classed as bestiality if he was in his animagus form as Padfoot, right? It wasn’t like he had many other options anyway.

Leaning forward, he conjured couple of sheets of parchment and summoned a quill and got to work. Once he tracked down Hedwig and sent the letters, he made himself a sandwich then left the house, magically locking the door behind him. He then morphed into Padfoot and trotted off down the street, sniffing the ground. It didn’t take him long to catch the scent of a bitch in heat and, tail wagging, he doubled his pace, tracking down the rather cute German Sheppard relatively quickly.

-=-=-=-=-

** _Hogwarts, evening after Dinner._ **

Minerva led her students back to their common room, pondering how best to tell them about Harry and Hermione's new living arrangements, and the reason behind it. She’d also dropped a rather subtle hint, ok, _not_ so subtle hint to Pomona about arranging Private Quarters for Cedric, but Pomona hadn’t really seen the point.

After they’d entered the common room, she ordered everyone to take a seat and to stay quiet while she talked, as she had a rather important announcement to make.

_‘Here goes Minnie…’_ she thought. She cleared her throat.

“Alright, I would like you all to pay close attention, because I’m only going to discuss this once, and I will not repeat myself.” She said sternly.

“You may have noticed Mister Potter’s and Miss Granger’s absence yesterday, as well as their absence from the Dorms Thursday and Friday night.” There were various nods. She caught the eye of the two Gryffindors in question and noticed that they looked a little more tired that she’d expect, Harry seemed to be absentmindedly rubbing his stomach, and she idly wondered if either of them had…_fed…_since that morning in the Hospital wing.

“Well, I feel it necessary to inform you all that Thursday afternoon, after their last class of the day, Mister Potter and Miss Granger were confronted by a fellow student and were hit with a particularly nasty curse. I will not go into detail about what the curse does, or how the two of them are dealing with it’s affects. I will leave that up to their discretion. Please do _NOT_ hassle them about it. If they feel comfortable enough to tell you about it, then they will in their own time. If I get reports of _anyone_ pestering them for details they are not willing to give, it will mean a week’s detention with Filch.”

She looked around, fixing all of them with a stern look, her gaze lingered on the two Gossip Queens, Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown. Once she’d given everyone a stern look, she continued.

“To that end, and to avoid any awkwardness for them in dealing with the effects of the curse, I have taken the liberty of moving them into the Head Boy’s Gryffindor Quarters.”

She paused, wondering how long she’d have to wait for the protests to start, she didn’t have to wait long.

“What?” Cormac McLaggen spoke up. There were several murmurs from the other students of various years. She noted that Ron looked particularly unhappy, his face creased in an angry scowl of jealously as he looked at the two Gryffindors in question. Young Ginny wasn’t much better, shooting the two of them an unhappy look. The two older Weasleys, Fred and George, were smirking and giving Harry the thumbs-up, Minerva wanted to roll her eyes at the two of them.

The reactions from the rest of the students was more varied, the First and Second Years looked confused, clearly not understanding what all the fuss was about, the Third Years had started to talk among themselves, shooting the two skeptical looks. It was the Fourth Years and Fifth Years that got the most reaction, the most negative of which were the youngest Weasleys, Neville was trying to give Harry and Hermione a supportive look, though he was clearly uncomfortable.

“So they’re going to be sleeping together?” Seamus asked. McGonagall mentally sighed as the whispered conversations got louder, particularly among the girls. “No, Mister Finnigan. They will each have separate rooms. The room that will be Miss Granger's will have similar charms on it to the Staircase.” She stated firmly.

Fay Dunbar snorted, “Maybe, but I’ll bet nothing’ll stop Hermione from jumping under _Harry's_ blankets.” Giving the two blushing Gryffs a knowing smirk. Ron _growled._ Dean noticed, and chuckled. “What’s the matter Weasley? Jealous?”

“No!” Ron said, his ears turning red, though everyone in the room could see he was lying out of his arse.

“Ah-hem!” Minerva made a show of clearing her throat again to get their attention. “I _expect_ Miss Granger and Mister Potter to show maturity and respect for the rules, the arrangement is hopefully temporary, and will only last until a proper cure is found.” _‘Though it may never be.’_ She thought.

“Now I suggest you all get settled for the night. And I don’t want to hear of any fighting! If I hear anything, those responsible will be serving detention!” and with that, she turned, gave Harry and Hermione a re-assuring nod, then left.

“’Cursed’ Huh? Is that the best you could come up with Potter?” McLaggen snorted, folding his arms.

“They were actually, we saw them in the Hospital Wing.” Neville said, Parvati, Lavender and even Ron nodded, though Ron was still scowling.

“So, what’s so special about this curse that you need to have private rooms?” he asked. Harry and Hermione looked at each other, each silently asking the other what to say. Finally, Hermione spoke. “It’s not something we’d want to discuss in front of the First, Second or possibly even Third Years, sorry guys.” she said, offering an apology to the younger students, some of whom made noises of objection.

“Does it matter?” Neville asked, turning to the Fifth-Year boy, who turned to look at him, eyebrow raised. “They’ll tell us when they’re ready, and right now, I doubt they are ready to tell us just yet, and if or when they do, that’s their choice.” This got smiles of gratitude from the two, who both silently promised that Neville would be among the first they told.

“Whatever, I’m heading up.” Ron growled, shooting Harry one last glare before he turned and stalked off towards the stairs. Ginny gave the two of them a silent look, her expression unreadable, before she turned and headed towards the Girl’s staircase.

The reactions from the rest of the Gryffindors was mixed, though mostly lukewarm, except from Neville, the Twins, Parvati and Lavender, who were all very supportive. “We’ll fill you guys in tomorrow, how’s about that?” Harry asked, they nodded, then left the two alone in the common room.

“Come on Harry.” Hermione said tiredly, thankful for the narrowly avoided confrontation as she made her way towards the Portrait of the wild Lion.

Once they were both inside, Harry sighed as he looked around the small common room, spying Crookshanks sleeping in front of the fire.

“Well…That could have gone better.” Harry said, as he tried to ignore his aching stomach, his tiredness and the erection in his pants that he’d been doing his best to hide for the last few hours. Hermione brushed her fingers through her bushy hair as she turned to him, noticing his tired look, pretty sure she looked just as tired, and felt just as horny. Mentally she prepared herself. They hadn’t ‘fed’ since the hospital wing that morning, and they were quickly approaching the twelve-hour mark. She quickly realized that Harry wasn’t going to start things, not until he was more self-confident, so for now, it would be up to her.

“Yeah, but it could have gone much worse Harry, it could have broken down into an all-out fight. Did you see the look Ron gave you? Gave _us?_” she said, as she moved towards the small hallway that led to their two bedrooms, which were opposite one another. Harry nodded, following her, he figured he’d get ready for bed now, so he wouldn’t have to later.

“Yeah, it’s like the Goblet thing all over again, but hey, at least they talked to me a little!” he joked, trying to lighten the mood as he entered his room but didn’t close the door, and started getting changed, he heard Hermione's reply from her room.

“We’ll tell Neville, Par, Lavender and the Twins some time tomorrow, as for the rest, well, I’m not sure.”

“Sounds good.” Harry called back.

A few minutes later, he was in his pajamas, and he turned as he heard Hermione enter the room, dressed only in her white nightie. He gave her a questioning look, he _had_ intended to go back out to the common room and just sit with her.

“I’m pretty sure neither of us have fed since this morning, and we’re coming up on twelve hours.” She said quietly, giving him a _look._ He swallowed, trying desperately to think of something, anything, to change the subject.

“What do you mean? We had lunch and Dinner.” He said, inwardly cringing at how pathetic that was. Hermione rolled her eyes.

“That’s not what I mean and you know it. I told you this morning Harry, we’re going to have to do that _again._ Several times at day at least, realistically, it’s too dangerous to us to keep it at just two instances a day, anything could come up that would leave one of us unable to feed when we have to, then we’ll start to deteriorate, and end up back in the Hospital Wing. And I don’t want to go through that _ever_ again, and I don’t think you do either.” She paused, looking him up and down, then gave him a sheepish smile.

“Besides, I do sort of owe you one for making you endure Pomfrey’s ‘Talk’ today. So, we can either do it here, or in the Common Room, which would you prefer?”

Harry _shuddered._ As much as he wanted to _Obliviate_ that entire hour from his mind, he knew everything Pomfrey had told him, in mind-scarring detail, was for his benefit.

“Uhm…here’s good…I think, you don’t have—” he was cut off as Hermione walked forward until they were both standing on the plush and thick sheep skin rug, and she sank to her knees, her hands moving to the waistband of his pajama bottoms.

“_YES_ Harry, I _DO!_ We _BOTH_ do! We went over this this morning, now, I’ll do you first, then you do me, that sound good to you?” she looked up at him, and saw the conflicted look on his face, obviously thinking about what he’d revealed to her about his upbringing, she sighed. “We’ll work through it Harry, I’ll help you, I promise, but right now, we need to take care of each other’s needs.” And with that, she gave his bottoms a firm tug, and they piled around his ankles.

Harry opened his mouth to protest again, his hands moving to intercept her head, but any protest he might have been about to make died on his tongue, replaced by a surprised moan as he felt his hard shaft being enveloped by a wonderful wet heat. His hands, which had been about to pull her head away, instead gently gripped and cradled it, his fingers even started to move, gently stroking and caressing her as she hummed, then got to work.

-=-=-=-=-


	7. Adjusting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting closer to the First Task now...:P I think (and hope) you guys will like what I've got planned.

**Chapter 7: Adjusting.**

** _Monday, November 21st, 1994_ **

Harry woke up slowly, feeling _great_. Well, as great as he _could_ feel with the artificial sense of fatigue he felt. The hunger and the arousal making itself known between his legs were real, however. Despite that, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept so good. He was on his back, alone in a large double bed, the mattress was softer and springier than his old bed from the Boy’s Dorm. Then he realized why he’d slept so well. It was so _quiet._ There was no sound except the faint tick-tock of a clock on the far wall. Rolling onto his side, he reached for his glasses and slipped them on, then cast a quick _Tempus_, seeing that it was almost 7 in the morning.

_‘Gotta get up and get ready.’_ He thought. As he stood, his mind wandered back to the night before, as he took full notice of how he was really _feeling._ He mentally sighed, remembering what Hermione had said. They’d _fed_ each other at about 8pm the night before, so they were again coming up on the twelve-hour mark. Which would mean they’d have to feed each other _again_ before breakfast, or push themselves a little and wait until after, but that wouldn’t leave them much time before classes started for the day, and they couldn’t skip half a day.

_‘We really need to work out some sort of schedule, at least for the mornings. But Hermione is right, we’ll have to do this several times a day…every day…Merlin…I’m gonna be like a damn _parasite_. There has to be another way…’_

As he turned to head towards his on-suite bathroom, he heard a light knock at the door. “It’s open Hermione.” He called, turning to face the door as it opened, and Hermione walked in, and Harry took in her full visage. She looked…well, she looked _rested_, like she’d just got a good night’s sleep, her hair was mussed up, her nightie disheveled, but looking in her eyes, he also saw the hunger there, as well as the faint arousal he knew she no doubt felt.

Closing the distance, he drew her into a tight hug.

“Morning Hermione, how’d you sleep?” he smiled into her neck as she returned the hug, pressing herself against him.

“Morning Harry. I slept fine.” She yawned. “Oops, sorry.”

He chuckled and pulled back, getting a good look at her. “That’s ok, how are you feeling?”

She gave him a once over. “Good, all things considered, a bit hungry though, and still a bit tired, and…well…” she made a vague gesture with her head, pointing down, he nodded.

“You too huh?”

She nodded, blushing a little, though not much, clearly, she was getting used to it, far faster than he was. “How about you?” he shrugged.

“I slept ok, feeling ok, apart from the obvious, though the hunger I think is genuine.” She nodded.

“It’s the curse, hopefully our bodies and magic will eventually adapt, and we’ll be able to go longer between feedings.”

Harry nodded and sighed. “Well, knowing my luck, mine won’t, but yours will. We _really_ need to come up with some sort of schedule, at least for the mornings. I was about to take a shower, but we’re coming up on the twelve-hour mark, and breakfast starts at 8, classes start at 9, so depending on how long we spend eating breakfast, we’ll not have much time for…well…_that._ Plus I don’t know how quick we can…uh…finish. But I’m sure there will be moments where we’re really pressed for time, ya know?”

She nodded “Yes, you’re right, we do, that’s one of the reasons I came in here, I mean, we could do it now, but neither of us have had a shower yet, and there’s no telling how long we’ll have once we’re done before breakfast…” she paused, thinking, though her wet labia and hard clitoris tried to convince her to just shove him on the bed and climb on top of him like she had in the Hospital Wing, but she resisted. “Tell you what, we’ll each take a quick shower, freshen up as much as we can, then if there’s enough time before breakfast, we’ll do it in the common room, and if not, we’ll find somewhere secluded and try to be as quick as we can.”

Thinking it over, he nodded. “Sounds like a plan.” He said, giving her another hug, then they parted ways. When he entered the bathroom, he took it in. it was impressive. A toilet, a sink with soap and his toothbrush and toothpaste, a towel rack with several small and large towels neatly folded hanging on it. And a large bath that also seemed to double as a shower, with what looked like a detachable shower head.

“Hm, not bad.” He mused, as he started going through his routine.

-=-=-=-=-

They had managed to get cleaned up relatively quickly, though they hadn’t really had time to see to their more pressing needs before they’d had to go to breakfast, which Harry reasoned, worked out in their favor, since it meant that they would be able to get the benefit of what they ate, but Hermione reminded him that it took several hours for their systems to fully digest food, and they probably wouldn’t be able to benefit from it until round about lunch, or mid-afternoon. Still, to avoid succumbing to the effects of the curse, they did promise each other that they’d to try and get a chance either at period breaks or lunch, if they couldn’t right after or before breakfast.

Harry raked his hand through his hair as they made their way down to the Greenhouses for Herbology, they still hadn’t had time to pull Neville or any of the others they’d planned to tell to one side during breakfast. Though there had been one positive. Sirius had replied, saying he’d call them via Floo later that night at 9pm so they could talk, and since they’d be alone, they’d be un-interrupted.

The persecutions from the other houses, on both of them, was still on-going, much to their chagrin.

Herbology went well, Susan even managed to get close and ask them, discreetly how they were doing. They replied that they were still figuring out how to cope with it daily, given their schedules.

Smiling, Susan leaned in and whispered, “Well, if either of you ever need a ‘boost’, send me a note or something and I’ll come meet you somewhere, maybe one of the unused classrooms. Daphne made the same offer, and I’m pretty sure Luna would too.” Hermione's face had turned beat red.

“Susan!”

“What?” the redhead replied.

Hermione gave her a look. “I’m not into girls!”

Susan snorted. “Me neither, but then, I’m not asking you to date me, I’m just offering something that you might need, when you need it. The fact that it’ll involve you licking my snatch is irrelevant. You get what you need to stay on your feet another twelve hours, a free snack, and I get a, hopefully damn good, orgasm out of it.”

Hermione spluttered, trying to keep her voice down as she worked on their class assignment. Harry's face was almost as red as a tomato. “And just _what_ makes you think I’m any good at that? I’ve never done it before!” she said quietly. Harry nodded and added his own little bit to the conversation.

“Same here! I mean, I’ve only done it twice, and I’m pretty sure I wasn’t that good.”

Hermione blushed, giving him a sheepish smile. “It was…okay.”

“_’Okay’_? Just ‘_Okay’_? You haven’t told him about that spell yet?” Susan asked, incredulous.

“What spell?” Harry asked. Hermione flushed again.

“It’s more of a technique than a spell, per se. Basically, if you tried using your Parseltongue ability while…uh…_’Dining at the Y’_, you’ll be able to bring her off faster, and also boost your own power levels.” Susan said, smirking. “I can’t believe you haven’t looked through it yet, didn’t you take the book with you?”

“Er, yeah, left it back in my new room.” Hermione said.

Susan rolled her eyes, then looked at Harry. “You really should read it Harry.”

She then paused, thinking, the nodded to herself. “Besides, there is one other option you could try, if timing is an issue.” The other two looked at each other, then back at her while they worked.

“Oh?” Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow.

Susan nodded, smirking. “Food.”

“Food?” Harry asked. She nodded again.

“Each of you takes an item of food the other wants, rub one out, then mix the results in, and give it to them. Simple.”

Hermione gasped, her eyes going _wide_, as she stared scandalized at her friend. Harry’s mouth had fallen open, his eyes wide as he also stared at her in disbelief. He vaguely noticed Hannah and Neville, along with Justin Finch-Fletchly starting to take notice. He wasn’t sure he could trust Justin with this kind of knowledge, but Neville they still needed to tell, he just hoped Hannah would be discreet.

“_‘Rub one out’_?! Just what kind of girl do you take me for Susan Bones!” Hermione hissed, making sure to keep her voice down, as she too had noticed they were starting to attract attention. Susan rolled her eyes.

“Fine. _Masturbate_. My idea is simple, at lunch and Dinner, take something that Harry wants to eat, masturbate to orgasm, then rub your pussy juice covered fingers onto and into his food, then give it to him. Harry, you can rub one off, holding some of her desert, and cum on it.” Susan explained, as casually as if she were discussing the weather.

Harry and Hermione exchanged looks, blushing hard as they each pictured what would have to happen, before Hermione turned to Susan, whispering fiercely to avoid drawing attention. “Susan! I can’t just climb up onto the Gyffindor table, pull my knickers off, lift my skirt and squat over Harry’s Shepherd’s Pie!”

Susan rolled her eyes, then smirked, “I’m not suggesting you do it that way. I’m suggesting you go down to the Kitchens, ask the Elves to give you something you know Harry likes to eat, like a small cake or something, go somewhere private, _then_ rub your fanny until you get yourself nice and wet, and after you cum, use your fingers to add it as a glaze. Simple. And hey, you never know, Harry could even take a small piece of apple pie for you and turn it into a _cream_pie!”

“_SUSAN BONES!_” Hermione hissed, her face flushing again with embarrassment and frustration. _Where _was this coming from? Her friend had _never_ been this forward before. “What the _hell_ is wrong with you?!”

Susan shrugged. “Ok, I admit it, I’m a _little_ jealous of you. I mean, you’re getting your fanny licked several times a day, or should be, at any rate. I can’t think of any other girl in the school who whouldn’t want to be that lucky. At least tell me how he is, what it feels like.”

“I’m right here you know.” Harry deadpanned.

“And I wouldn’t call us ‘lucky.’ Susan, we’re being _FORCED_ to do this or we face a slow horrible death! Besides, we’re both still…_learning_ things.” She paused, then remembered what had started this line of the discussion.

“How would we even _get_ to the Kitchens?” Hermione asked.

“Wait, what? You’re actually _considering _this?” He asked.

Hermione looked at him and shrugged. “We still haven’t _fed_ since last night Harry, I’m starting to get tired, and hungry, and I know you are too. This would at least give us an option for lunch and Dinner, or at least for after that. But realistically, we need to do this sort of thing more than 3 times a day, I’m not sure how many times would be ideal yet.”

“What’s going on you guys?” Neville asked, as he, Justin and Hannah moved closer. Harry and Hermione exchanged looks again, then both nodded.

“Remember what McGonagall said yesterday in the Common Room?” Harry asked, Neville nodded. “Well, Susan was just discussing with us possible ways we could manage the affects of the curse Draco used on us. Though we don’t want it getting out, it’s kinda personal.”

“It’s _very_ personal.” Hermione huffed.

“Ok, it’s _very_ personal, which is why McGonagall put us in Private Quarters. We don’t want it getting out, so…we want to limit who we tell. And those we tell will have swear never to tell anyone else until we say it’s ok.” Harry said. Neville nodded.

“Well, I won’t spread it around.” Hannah also shook her head, “Me neither.” Justin also agreed.

“Ok.” Hermione said, then quickly, as tactfully as she could, she outlined the curse’s affects, what it had done, how it worked, and what they now had to do daily, at least for the foreseeable future.

By the time she was finished, the hour long lesson was almost up, and Neville, Hannah and Justin were all blushing and trying not to look at the pair too awkwardly.

“Well…I can see why she’d put you in Private Quarters.” Hannah said. Neville nodded.

“Yeah…uh…so this curse, basically means you have to ‘feed’ from others in order to avoid starving, even though you eat food? And it says you can basically get it from anyone?” they both nodded, Hannah gave him an odd look, and he started to backtrack.

“Well, uh, I’m not saying I’m offering, I don’t think you’d accept anyway…uh…” Hermione smiled appreciatively, then patted Neville’s arm.

“I appreciate the thought Neville, but for convenience sake, and simply because it’s more comfortable for me, I’d rather it just be Harry.”

“What are you going to do about your…ya know…” Hannah asked, making a vague gesture towards Hermione's lower abdomen. “_Time?_” she finished, her blush increasing.

Hermione sighed. “I don’t know yet, I’m due next week. I’ll try to think of something.”

“Anyway, back to what we were discussing before Susan.” Hermione said after a pause “Where is the entrance?”

“Go to the entrance hall and take the stairway down leading to the Hufflepuff Basement. On the way there you’ll find a brightly lit basement hallway full of food themed paintings, one of which is a painting of a fruit bowl full of fruit. Just tickle the pear and it will giggle, then turn into a door handle, and you use that to open the door to the kitchens.” Susan said.

Harry blinked “So the kitchens are right below the Great Hall?” Susan and Hannah nodded.

“It’s worth a try.” Hermione said.

After the bell rang for the end of the lesson a short while later, the two Gryffindors started to make their way back into the castle, heading for their Care of Magical Creatures lesson, talking quietly, trying to discuss various ways of meeting their respective ‘Needs’.

Hermione quickly checked her watch, then looked around the corridor they were in to make sure they were alone, as the rest of the Gryffindors had moved on ahead, since they were still blanking Harry, though thankfully they hadn’t yet given them too much grief over the private quarters, though Ron still seemed angry.

“Why’d you stop Hermione? We’re gonna be late.” Harry asked. She didn’t respond, not with words. She just pulled him towards a shadowed alcove, since there weren’t any broom closets nearby, and promptly dropped to one knee, her hands moving quickly to the zipper at the front of his trousers.

“Whoa Hermione! What are you…? Here? _Now?_” he protested, the last two words coming out as strained whispers.

“Yes. Here. _Now._” She growled as she got his fly open and worked her fingers into his boxers, finding his semi-hard shaft. As soon as she had him exposed to the air, she gripped him more firmly and slid back his foreskin, and leaned forward, wetting her lips as she pressed them to crown of his shaft in a kiss, which turned into a gentle embrace as they opened and she took in as much as she could. She didn’t take him all the way in, she’d learned the night before that while she could deep-throat him, she didn’t like doing it too much, as it stoped her from breathing, so instead, she just focused on sucking his shaft, using the hand holding it to stroke it, while her other hand went down under her skirt and into her knickers to find her smooth wet slit ready.

She figured it probably wouldn’t be the same for him getting it this way, but it would hopefully keep him going for a awhile. They also had the issue of time to consider.

They _really _didn’t want to be late for their next class and have to explain to Hagrid why.

So this would have to be quick. Quicker than she would have preferred, as she’d discovered she rather _liked_ having Harry’s penis in her mouth. She liked sucking it, she liked the feel, the texture, the _taste._ She still wasn’t sure if it was just the curse, or whether she seemed to have a natural talent and affinity for oral sex, but she was quickly coming to the conclusion that she was ok with this. She was his best female friend, and she was willing to do _anything_ for him. Even this. Even if the curse hadn’t been a factor, if he had wanted it badly enough and had plucked up the courage to ask her, she found herself admitting to herself that she honestly still would have done this. For him. Because she _cared._

She thought back to yesterday and remembered her panic and worry that she wouldn’t be able to do this, and she mentally snorted. _‘You CAN do this Granger. You MUST do this. So you WILL do this. For as long as you need to. And you’re going to make damn sure you both enjoy it.’_

Malfoy wanted her to be a cocksucker? Fine then, she’d be the best damn cocksucker that had ever gone to Hogwarts. But only _ONE_ boy would _EVER_ know just how good she intended to become.

And so, Hermione started to use the tricks she’d learned so far worked best. She _hummed._ Hummed and alternated between long firm sucks along his shaft, to gentle licks and sucks of his tip. Paying special attention to his frenulum and the small slit at the very tip.

All the while, her other hand was busy between her legs, fingering her passage, trying to get her fingers as coated as she could while also stroking her hard clitoris and swollen lips.

For his part, Harry was staring down at her in surprise, then quickly looked up and around to make sure they were truly alone. He tensed as he felt the warm heat of her mouth envelop him, and she began to lick and suck with determination, then she looked up at him, her brown eyes full of concern, compassion, and _hunger._

“Her-Hermione…” he gasped as he started to shiver with ecstasy as he felt his shaft rapidly harden in the delicious confines of her mouth. When their eyes met, he saw her smile as she started to quickly bob her head.

She pulled back and kissed the exposed tip, her tongue flicking out to catch some of his pre-cum. “Mmm…that’s it Harry, come on…give me what I need, and I’ll be able to give you what _you_ need.” She then started to rub his glans over her face. On her cheeks, her chin, even her eyes and forehead as she planted kisses up and down his shaft. She even pulled back his foreskin all the way, then licked the exposed skin and defined blood vessels, in long strokes of her flat tongue, even pressing it against his coronal ridge, before she once again closed her lips around it, leaving just his glans in her mouth, then she sucked _hard_.

Harry’s body jerked, his hips thrusting forward as he gasped, Hermione moaned as she used her tongue to press his glans against the roof of her mouth as she sucked. Her body alight with fire as she also continued to finger herself, her wet sounds of her fingers working between her legs barely audible over the sounds coming from her mouth. She was close, her clit was so hard and throbbing it almost hurt, she wished Harry could suck it, use his fingers, _anything_ to help her reach her own peak.

As she gently massaged her clit, she felt his shaft harden and twitch, and suddenly, her mouth was filled with the thick warm liquid that she wanted. She moaned and closed her eyes as the taste of chocolate Cauldron Cake filled her mouth, and she swallowed, her own body shaking with climax as she did, and she felt the hand between her legs become coated in her juices.

Then the bell for next class rang.

_‘Perfect.’_ She thought, as she continued to suck the last few drops from Harry’s body. She then stood on shaky legs as Harry slumped back against the wall, Hermione reached out to steady him, then brought her slick fingers up to his face. Their eyes locked, hers full of renewed vigor, and his looking slightly tired.

“Go on Harry.” She whispered.

“Are you su—mmmMMPH!” what ever he’d been about to say was cut off as her fingers were pushed into his mouth, and he started to suck and lick them clean of the heady, thick, sweet-tasting juice that covered them.

“Better?” she asked after he’d swallowed and made himself presentable. He nodded. “Ok, lets get to Care, hopefully we won’t be too late.”

-=-=-=-

Draco Malfoy was _not_ a happy Slytherin.

Not only had Potter and his Mudblood not been punished for nearly breaking his nose, then punching him in the balls—_seriously_, what were they? Savages?—_then_ Granger kneed him in the face, which _had_ broken his nose, and he’d needed Professor Snape’s help to fix it. Not only _that,_ he’d also been denied access to the Hospital Wing. He’d gone there after finding out that yes, he really _had_ been banned from Hogsmeade visits. The Old Goat had been serious after all, and that revelation had infuriated him so much, he’d gone to the Hospital Wing with the express intention of making Potter suffer some more, though Pomfrey had likely anticipated this, and set up a ward at the door way of the Hospital Wing that kept him out _“As long as they’re here.”_ She’d said. Meddling old crone, once the rumored new Ministry Official was placed on the staff the following year, she’d be the first to go, right after the Old Fool.

He’d heard about this from his father in a short missive, it hadn’t revealed much, just that Fudge was looking for a reason to put one of his people on the Hogwarts staff next year, as he was not comfortable with the way the school was being run, and felt the Ministry needed a foot in the door. Apparently, there had been too many unusual instances in the last few years that the Minister did not like: First the Basilisk, then Black breaking in, and the Dementors somehow being driven off, then the escape of that feral Hippogriff, Buckbeak, and now Potter was in the Tournament.

Draco scowled.

_Potter!_

Draco had had to school himself to mask his surprise when they turned up for Care of Magical Creatures, once again being taught by the Lumbering Half-breed Oaf. He’d had to bite his tongue to suppress the snarl of rage when he saw they were perfectly fine, not tired at all. And they seemed to have a certain _look_ about that, one they wouldn’t have had if they’d used the counter curse that he’d hoped they would.

Sure, if they had, he technically would have committed Line Assassination, which if he’d ever be convicted of, he’d get life in Azkaban, but he was sure his father would be able to get him out if that ever happened. But then, it was the _Potter_ line, it wasn’t like it actually _mattered!_ The Potters were removed from the list of Sacred 28 for a _reason!_ Who gave a shit if the line got snuffed out?

Though apparently, according to his father, the Dark Lord would be returning soon, so that was good at least.

So it was pretty clear to him how and why they were back on their feet.

Still, there was _some_ consolation out of all this. Granger would by now have to be giving head on a regular basis, so he reasoned, he could get her to put that mouth of hers to better use that quoting books. Sure, he could do a _lot_ better than some mudblood, but…a blowjob was a blowjob.

Though he wasn’t about to proposition her in front of the Gryffindors and the Oaf, he decided he’d wait until later.

He turned his attention back to the Skrewt he was trying to work with. The thing was still small, about the size of a cat, it was long, with what looked like the body of a scorpion but without the tail, and it looked nasty. He couldn’t remember _why_ Hagrid, sorry, the _Lumbering Oaf_ thought it was a _good idea_ to crossbreed a manticore and a giant fire crab. Draco shuddered. He _did NOT_ want to think about how _that_ could have possibly worked.

_Surely _these things violated the ban on experimental breeding, maybe he’d tell his father or the Minister about it and get the Oaf finally fired. The Skrewt was small, only recently hatched, and while he noticed it did not have a noticeable head, it was easy to tell which end was which, that’s the sparks that gave it it’s name. it was also easier to tell the difference between males and females, as the males had two scorpion tales, one at each end, but according Hagrid, the females were covered in suckers, meant for drawing blood.

And the one he was trying to deal with was one of the latter.

He looked over at Potter and Granger as they were able to successfully deal with the Skrewts they were trying to wrangle.

What were they supposed to be doing with these things again? He couldn’t remember. He considered asking Granger and Potter how it felt to be each other’s personal whore, but decided against it, for the time being at least. While he was pretty sure most of the Gryffs were still blanking him, as they should, he knew that if he said anything to Hermione, there was a chance they’d turn their wands on him, and he was surrounded by these little abominations, that, if he was guessing right, were all the females, and he did _NOT_ want his blood sucked out by them. And he certainly didn’t want to earn a Detention from the Oaf. So he would bide his time.

He scowled as he saw Daphne Greengrass shooting Potter and Granger looks every now and then. He’d had is suspicions about her before, her family had remained Neutral during the last war, and part of him wondered if that would be the case this time around, but Greengrass was showing far too much interest in Potter…could she have…? No…the book was safe back in his trunk, he’d checked. He knew the counter curse was listed in other books, as it was just a general Sterilization curse, though even if they _hadn’t_ found it and figured to use it, Potter would have died anyway, so it would have been a win either way in his mind. The Potter line would have been wiped out either way.

He’d have to confront her at some point.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Care went well for Harry and Hermione, well, it went as well as it could when they were dealing with small, creepy looking creatures that looked like the unholy lovechild of a lobster and a scorpion. Though according to Hagrid, they were the unholy lovechildren of a Manticore and a Fire Crab, though he didn’t call them that. Neither Harry nor Hermione wanted to know how he achieved _that_ union.

Harry wasn’t sure why he’d bred the things, but he was sure it was for the Tournament.

“Alright there ‘Arry?” Hagrid asked as he came over.

“Yeah…uh…are you _sure_ these things are safe? Or a good idea?”

“Sure they're safe! At least when they’re little like this, just need ta ‘andle ‘em with care is all.” Hagrid replied jovially.

“Right…sure.” Hermione said, trying to wrangle a couple of the little things and stop them from getting too close.

“Anyway, wha’ you two been up to? Haven’t see ya’ all weekend, no one would tell me anythin’.”

Harry and Hermione exchanged looks, then nodded. “We’ll tell you later Hagrid.” Hermione said with a smile. The big half-giant smiled in return.

“Oh, befor’ I forget. ‘Arry, I’ll be by Gryffindor Tower to pick ya up tonight at abou’ 1 in th’ morning. Got somethin’ to show ya. It’s pretty hush-hush though. I’m not suppose’ to tell ya anythin’, but…uh…Dumbledore asked me ta.”

The two of them looked at each other, then nodded. “We’ll be waiting.”

Hagrid gave him a look. “Uh, only supposed to be showin’ you ‘arry.” He seemed a little uncomfortable as he gave Hermione an apologetic look.

“It’s ok Hagrid, I’d be telling Hermione anyway, so you might as well show us both. Besides, we’re in Private Quarters now.” Harry replied.

“Ya are? Why’s that then?”

“Tell you later tonight.” Harry said.

-=-=-=-=-

Care went ok for the most part, the only really amusing thing that happened was Draco panicking when one of the small female Skrewts started to crawl up his left trouser leg, he’d bent over to try and grab it and pull it out, only for two more of them to leap onto his face. Screaming and flailing, he’d fallen to the floor, while Crabbe and Goyle tried, in vain, to get the creatures off him. Hagrid had been forced to intervene, and then Draco had been carried off to the Hospital Wing, his face, neck and left leg covered in sucker marks and trails of blood.

The class let out at lunch time, and Harry and Hermione made their way into the castle, heading for the Entrance Hall. “We’re not going to the Great Hall?” Harry asked as Hermione led him, she shook her head.

“I want to see what the Kitchens are like, have a talk with the Elves. Yes I’m still not happy with them working here, but…honestly, we have slightly more important things to worry about than SPEW.” She replied, not looking back at him as they entered the entrance hall, ignoring the students who walked past them, they headed to the door Susan had mentioned, then descended to the basement hallway. After a few turns, they found themselves in the hallway with the food-themed paintings.

“That one.” Hermione said, pointing at a rather odd painting of a fruit bowl. Harry looked at it and shrugged, before reaching out to tickle the pear. It giggled, wiggled, then turned into a doorknob. Taking hold, Harry pushed open the door and the two of them entered the large kitchen.

It was a room almost as big as the Great Hall, with rows of counter tops full of pots, pans, bowls and plates lining all the walls. A huge fire burned at the opposite end of the room to the main doors. The room also had many counter tops where various food items were being prepared, some already were.

It was also full of House Elves, who all turned to look in their direction when they entered, but most quickly went back to work, but one particularly heavy-set Elf stepped forward, wearing a dirty vest that bore a badge with a stylized ‘H’, denoting him as a Hogwarts Elf.

“Whats can Pitts be doing for yous? Shouldn’t yous be up in the Great Hall?”

“Erm…” Harry began, scratching his head, not sure how to begin. This was going to be a very _awkward_ conversation. He looked at Hermione for help, but she seemed to be just as flustered. _‘This probably would have been easier with Dobby.’_ He thought…maybe.

“Well…you see…my friend and I have recently become afflicted a magical condition that…now requires us to meet certain dietary needs…” Hermione said blushing. The Elf raised an eyebrow, even though he seemed to be completely hairless.

“Yous be wanting certain foods then? What foods you bes needing?” he asked.

“No, it’s not that.” Hermione said, fiddling with her hands, wondering how much she could say without explaining everything. She didn’t know this Elf like she did Dobby. “We were wondering if we could take something with us out of the Hall or the Kitchens, well, anything that wouldn’t be considered a snack, like a small pastry or something.” Hermione mentally cringed, remembering Susan’s ‘_Creampie’_ comment.

Pitts nodded slowly, obviously a little confused. “Yes. Yous can bes doing that.”

“Well, meeting our unique needs would require somewhere…a bit private, somewhere where we won’t be disturbed.” She added. Pitts looked thoughtful.

“Yous could bes using the Come and Go Room.”

“Uh…the what Room?” Harry asked.

“The Come and Go Room.” Another Elf replied, stepping forward. This Elf, a female, looked young, like Winky, dressed in a pink and worn pillowcase. “Also being called the Room of Requirement.”

Harry and Hermione exchanged a look, then looked at her. “We’ve never heard of it. Where is it? What does it do?”

“We uses it to store things.” Pitts said. “It responds to the wishes of the one who opens it. It can create anything the one openings it wishes. If yous be needing a place to sleep and yous can’t bes getting into yous Dorms, it will becomes a bedroom.”

“Amazing…Where is it?” Hermione asked, already thinking of the possibilities.

“Seventh Floor, opposite the Tapestry with the mad Wizard tryings to teach Trolls to dance.”

“Wait a minute, the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy? How many times have we walked past that? There’s nothing opposite that, just a blank wall.” Harry said.

“Yous needs to be walkings back and forth three times in front of the tapestry, and be thinking about whats yous really be wanting or needing. Tipsy will show yous.” The female Elf said. Hermione smiled at her.

“Thank you. Erm, we’ll take some sandwiches, and a pot of tea please, oh and some fudge cake please.”

The Elves nodded. “Pitts will sees to your order, Tipsy will bes showing yous where to find and how to open the Room.” Pitts said, nodding to Tipsy before turning away.

They followed the little Elf out of the kitchens and back up to the entrance hall, and in ten minutes or so made their way up to the Gryffindor corridor, stopping in front of the tapestry.

“So we just walk back and forth in front of this three times?” Harry asked. Tipsy nodded.

“While yous be thinking of what yous really need.”

The two exchanged a look, then Hermione started pacing back and forth, a look of concentration on her face. On the third pass, a large wooden door appeared in the wall. Hermione stepped forward and opened the door, revealing a small grass covered area, sunny blue sky, and a moderate temperature, it felt almost like spring as they entered. Looking around, they saw it was a park. A picnic blanket was already laid out on the ground.

“This is nice…” Harry said, surprised at the temperature. Hermione smiled as she looked around, then bent to feel the grass.

“It feels _real_, I’d love to see the magic that went into creating this room. This is some seriously complex conjuration and transfiguration.” Hermione muttered to herself as Harry sat on the blanket as Pitts appeared, levitating three trays with their orders and a pot of tea on the third, along with some milk and sugar.

“Thank you.” Hermione said, offering to take the trays, but Pitts just set them down, gave her a curt nod, then vanished. Tipsy looked at them.

“Is there anythings else yous bes needing?” she asked.

“No thanks, we’re good I think.” Harry said, she nodded and vanished.

“How’d you come up with this?” Harry asked as he tucked into his lunch and she did the same.

“It’s a small public park near where I live.”

“It’s nice. We’re really gonna have to see what this room can do.” Harry said, “It’s not on the map, guess that means the Marauders never found it.”

“Or they did, but didn’t know what it was, so never recorded it.” Hermione shrugged.

Harry nodded as they ate.

“I wonder what else this room can do?”

“Well, I’m assuming that this room uses advanced conjuration and intent reading wards, or charms. Well, I’m guessing that there are limits to what it can create, for instance, nothing that is naturally alive can be created here, so this grass might _feel_ real, but it isn’t. It probably also might not be able to create food, though water, probably. If it doesn’t violate the laws of either physics or magic to do it, I’m sure the room will be able to make it.” Hermione concluded.

“It’ll have to be tested more later. After lunch though, I’ve got Arithmacy and you’ve got Divination.”

“Joy.” Harry muttered as he finished his sandwich, pouring some tea for himself. “More predictions of my impending demise. Fun.” He finished sarcastically.

Hermione smiled. “You really should have switched you know. Maybe you can take Ancient Runes next year with me.”

Harry thought for a moment…yeah, that would be nice.

Once they were done with their main meals, Harry looked down at the two deserts they’d brought, and he swallowed, remembering the conversation they’d had with Susan, and then Pitts, as he assumed, _that_ was why they’d come here, and not just to have a quiet meal alone.

_‘We’re not even dating yet, if there will even _be_ a yet, and we’re already doing things that I’d never thought I’d do.’_ He thought.

“Well…I might, depending on how the rest of this year goes.” Harry said, before he eyed her up and down. “So…why exactly _are_ we in here? Not that I’m complaining having a nice quiet lunch with you, but I thought we could get the opportunity to tell the others, at least those we were going to tell, about our…situation.”

Hermione hummed. “Weeell…I _had_ originally intended to test out what Susan suggested we try…” she said, her face reddening. Harry's did too.

“Uh, ok…and now? I’m honestly not sure how I feel yet about doing that in front of you. Sure, we’ve had to do other stuff, but that sorta thing is…ya know…_private._ And besides…well…you know I feel about—” a raised hand cut him off, and Hermione glared at him.

“That’s the _Dursleys_ talking Harry! And they were talking about _you _specifically, not teenagers in general. They just didn’t want you to have any self-worth or sexual desire or knowledge. So we need to fix that, and the sooner the better. This issue wasn’t on my mind when we came in here, but, now you’ve brought it up, we can work on that.”

“And how do you intend to do that?” Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

“How ever it takes. For as long as it takes. If telling you that it’s perfectly normal and _healthy_ for you to have sexual desires, thoughts and urges about girls doesn’t work, then I’ll have to resort to showing you.”

“There’s uh…no need for that.” Harry said, awkwardly, avoiding her gaze. Hermione pursed her lips and thought for a moment.

“I know that you’ve probably noticed the pretty girls in the school, particularly around our year and maybe a couple a year or two above us.”

Harry nodded and looked away, feeling uncomfortable. He _had _noticed the girls around the school. Hell, he’d even ogled Susan, right there in front of Hermione and two of her friends. He wasn’t blind for Merlin’s sake! He’d even started to notice Cho Chang, the rather attractive Ravenclaw he’d seen every now and then.

He suddenly winced as an unfamiliar and unpleasant feeling spread through his gut as he thought of the other girls, that feeling increased as he looked up at Hermione and saw the flash of unhappiness in her brown eyes.

“You’re beautiful too Hermione.” He said quietly, hoping to take that slightly hurt expression off her face, he wanted to reach out and comfort her and screw Trelawney and her weekly predictions of his death. Hermione looked at him, smiling faintly.

“Thank you, Harry.” She said quietly. She then closed her eyes to think, then opened them and looked at him. “Well, the other reason I brought up the subject of the other girls is, you may not always be able to feed from me. I start my cycle next week, around Sunday maybe, though it varies from month to month. And as much as I do enjoy you licking me, and I like to think you’re starting to like it too, I doubt you want to be doing that while I’m bleeding.”

Harry shook his head, remembering that detail from The Hour of Mental Torture, thank you Pomfrey. He _certainly _did NOT want to accidently swallow any of that. If he were a Vampire, _maybe,_ but he wasn’t.

“Well, in that case, you need to feed from someone during that week, and I know Susan, Luna and Daphne have already offered, but I’m sure there are plenty of girls who have a crush on The-Boy-Who-Lived, and would happily drop their knickers for you if they knew the reason why.”

“I doubt all of them would, and besides, you _know_ I hate that name, and what it means.”

Hermione nodded “Fair point, I can’t imagine _all_ of the Slytherins being willing to do what I and apparently my friends are willing to do.”

Harry shrugged “Well, recently, I think most wouldn’t be willing to help me.”

“We’ll prove you didn’t do it Harry, somehow. They’ll _have_ to believe you eventually.”

“I don’t know Hermione, I just feel like I’m using you, in some way. Like we’re only doing this because we _have _to.” Harry said, his face conflicted.

Hermione sign as she moved closer and drew him into a hug.

“It’s ok Harry. At first, yes, we were only doing this because we had to, but now that I’ve done it a few times…well, to be honest, I’m starting to _like_ it, really like it actually.” She pulled back from the hug, blushing as she continued “In fact, I’m ok with this. I’m perfectly at ease with what we’ve been doing, because you’re my best friend, I’ll do anything for you and I trust you. And I’ve come to the conclusion that I really like having you in my mouth. If Draco wants me to be a cocksucker, then that’s ok with me, I’ll be the best Merlin-damned cocksucker in the entire school, but I’ll never be sucking his, not willingly at any rate.”

Harry swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. “You’re…_ok_ with this?” He asked. She nodded.

“I realized earlier today that, even if this curse wasn’t a factor, I’d still be willing to do it for you, if you’d ever plucked up the courage to ask me.”

Harry snorted, “I wouldn’t have counted on it. You _know_ what my upbringing was like, what they told me. Sure, I’ve…_taken care_ of things myself, but it’s never felt right, you know?”

She nodded sadly. “I know, what they’ve done to you has been horrible, and I want to help you get through that, and I’ll be _damned_ if you’re ever going back there, even for a day. I don’t care what wards are around that place, they clearly don’t protect you from the Dursleys, I’m going to send a message to my parents and ask them if it’ll be ok for you to join us at the end of term.”

“Wait, what? Are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean, have you told them about…” he vaguely gestured to the both of them. She shook her head, an embarrassed expression on her face.

“No, I haven’t told them anything yet, I honestly don’t know how. Could you imagine them reading that letter? _“Dear Mum and Dad, sorry I haven’t sent you a letter lately, but I’ve had a lot to deal with. My best friend is being forced to compete in a tournament that has killed past participants. I was recently cursed by a blond-haired little prick and I’m now forced to suck a dick and swallow the boys cum several times a day just to survive. My best friend who decided to use himself as a human shield was also hit, and now must lick pussy just as many times a day. What’s new with you guys?”_ oh yes, I can just _imagine_ their reaction.” She deadpanned.

“Well, if I’m gonna be staying with you, you’d have to tell them, there’s no way they’d let us sleep together, we’d never be able to go anywhere private for long, at least long enough for us to do what we need to do, and we _certainly_ won’t be able to try and do what Susan suggested, which we still haven’t done.” He said. “Besides, do we really need to do that now? I mean, we did it earlier before Care.”

“True, but you didn’t get much, and well…” her cheeks flushed as she uncrossed her legs and sat back, spreading them a little, letting him see the white material of her knickers between her smooth thighs. “I still want to prove to you that it’s completely normal for teenagers our age to masturbate, and healthy, physically, emotionally and mentally to boot. Besides, we _do_ need to try what Susan suggested at some point, why not now?”

“Uh…we might not have the time? It’s nearly end of lunch, and I’ve got my Weekly Prediction Of Doom to get to, and you’ve got Arithmancy.” He said, doing his best to try and ignore the erection that was starting to form.

She sighed, “Ok, point, BUT, we are going to try this at some point. I also want you to get to know Susan, Daphne and Luna better as well. I know I’ve only just met Luna, but I’m going to try and get to know her too, but it’s important you get to know them also. As I said, I’m on my cycle next week, so you may not be able to feed from me as often as you otherwise could, and Daphne, Susan and Luna have volunteered to help you, so, if they come to you and make an offer, you **_WILL_** accept it! I will be checking with them, as well as any other girls who offer to help you, and if I find that you’ve been neglecting yourself, putting your own health, even your _life_ at risk, I will be _very upset with you!_ Is that clear Harry?”

He nodded, reaching for the chocolate cake she’d ordered for them. While they hadn’t gotten around to doing what Hermione had originally intended, this private little lunch had been nice.

Hermione nodded in approval, reaching for her own desert, a piece of apple pie and sitting up. “I meant what I said Harry; you’re my best friend, I’ll do _anything_ for you, and I trust you with my life.” _‘And while I love you as a friend, I’m starting to hope we can one day be more, if you’ll say yes.’_ She added silently.

Harry smiled at her, feeling a surge of warmth within him. “And you know I’d do anything for you Hermione, you’re my best friend, one of my first friends ever, and you know I’ll trust you with anything. I mean hell, you’re one of the few people who stood beside me through everything here.” _‘And I do love you Hermione, at least, I think I do, I just don’t know what love is, I’ve got no frame of reference…’_ he thought.

Hermione smiled and leaned forward, drawing him into a tight hug. “I meant what I said Harry. I’ll do _anything_ for you. If you need to feed, and we’re alone, just tell me, and I’ll happily let you. Ok?”

“Uh, sure thing. Did you…really mean what you said? About ya know…”

“How much I like having your willy in my mouth? Yes. I did. And yes, I really do.” She whispered huskily into his ear.

Harry sucked in a breath as a chill shot down his spine and he felt himself harden fully. “Gee, thanks Hermione. How am I going to concentrate on Trelawney telling me I’m going to die horribly with _this_?” he asked, pulling back, looking down, then back up at her. A knowing smirk and a glint in her eye told him that was the reaction she’d been hoping for. _‘When did she get so…Amorous?’_

He moved to pull away, but one of his hands came down and brushed against a robe covered breast, and before he realized what was going on, his fingers had closed around it, and given it a gentle squeeze, making her moan and close her eyes.

He jumped back as if he’d been scolded, his eyes wide, face flushing with embarrassment and horror. “Sorry! Sorry! I didn’t mean—” he was cut off by a light giggle from his friend, who smiled at him, her face showing no trace of alarm or anger, only amusement, with undercurrents of lust burning in her eyes.

“Harry James Potter, after everything we’ve done over the past 18 or so hours, you freak out at accidently squeezing my right boob? Those god damned Dursleys…” her smile faded, her face and tone becoming serious. “Ok, I’ll make this simple for you: You have my full permission to touch, stroke, caress, rub, squeeze, lick, kiss, suck and even finger any part of my body you want, whenever you want or need to. Within reason. Is that good enough for you?” she asked, tilting her head as she finished off her apple pie.

Before Harry could say anything, the bell rang, signaling the end of Lunch hour, and the start of afternoon classes. The two quickly finished up and stood, hugged then left the Room of Requirement, watching as the large wooden door faded into nothing as soon as it closed behind them.

“We’re definitely using this room again.” Hermione said, Harry nodded as they both made their way to their classes. They split up, after another hug, agreeing to meet up at Dinner in the Great Hall, though the proposal of telling the Twins and the Gossip Queens was tabled, as Hermione said she wanted to think on it. Still, if anyone asked, they’d explain at their discretion.

-=-=-=-

Divination went about as well as Harry expected it to. With Trelawney predicting his death yet again, this time it involved fire and a lot of teeth, or drowning under a lot of water, or getting lost in some hedges and getting pounces on by something big and nasty. He’d just tuned her out. While she _had_ made an accurate prediction with Wormtail the year before, she didn’t seem to be able to remember making it. He was honestly thinking of dropping the subject, as it just seemed to be a waste of time.

He figured Lavender would probably be pissed, maybe, since she seemed to take the whole Divination thing rather seriously, though Harry just figured she was buying into the whole con.

After nearly falling asleep, and being assigned homework he really didn’t want to do, he left the class and headed towards the Great Hall along with the rest of his classmates. Ron was still ignoring him, in fact, most of them were, but Ron seemed especially determined, even going as far as to glare at Harry every time their eyes _did_ meet. And if Harry was honest, it was starting to annoy him.

-=-=-=-

Albus Dumbledore sat at the Staff Table in the Great Hall, surreptitiously watching Harry and Hermione as he ate. Something was wrong. He hadn’t seen them at lunch, and a quick enquiry with the portraits and various armor suits in the castle had confirmed that they’d gone down the Kitchen below, and had spoken to Pitts, the Elf in charge. What he had told them, the Elf did not divulge, but the Elves had told him that the request he’d made of them had been fulfilled: Harry and Hermione's food had been laced with mild lust potions, starting that morning at breakfast, and again with their lunch. A slightly stronger dose was to be added to their evening meal. He’d also placed a silent compulsion charm on Viktor Krum, compelling the young man to seek out Hermione and attempt to befriend her, but the lad had not been able to get the opportunity to do so at lunch, and was now sat with his peers, so would not be able to now either.

Where had they gone? His mind cast back to the meeting he’d had with Minerva the day before, after the details of the curse had been revealed, and Minerva had left his office, he’d raged, cursing the Malfoy brat for his stupidity! The meddling little shit was putting the Greater Good at risk! While Dumbledore did not know if the curse would affect the Bonding, he had to assume it would, and being forced into such close quarters, having to do such things so regularly…the odds of the two Bonding, even without knowing it, increased greatly. The fact that starting the process required a conscious effort on the part of the Witch involved was potentially irrelevant, and if it was…

Still, he reasoned, it wasn’t a total loss, the Bond, if it had started to form, could be broken or shifted to another Wizard, such as Krum, or Weasley, which was partially what he’d hoped to start happening at lunch. Still, he reasoned, the future of the Magical World was safe, Hermione could _not_ become the next Lady Potter, that spot was reserved for young Ginevra, as per the contract he and Molly had penned shortly after her birth. With Harry marrying Ginny, and the Potters being once again counted among the Sacred 28, the Magical World would once again stabilize. The Greater Good demanded it. It was just a shame young Harry would never live to see it, but his child, borne from Ginevra’s womb, would.

The First Task was just days away, the dragons were arriving that night, Harry and the two foreign Champions would learn of them, and get their eggs, which would set up the next Task. He could possibly try compelling Hermione into showing favoritism to Krum, rather than Harry during the First Task, and if that failed, there was the Yule Ball, following which, he could suggest to Igor that Hermione be Krum’s Hostage, that would be sure to get the papers talking, and to start building relations between the two. This of course would no doubt infuriate young Ronald Weasley, who clearly had his eye on the girl, if the furiously jealous looks he was giving the two now were any indication. Clearly, he had not taken the news of their new living arrangements well.

_‘Hmm…this is a problem. Young Mister Weasley’s jealously is driving a wedge between him and the other two, and driving Harry closer to Hermione, though their new living arrangements and the curse are not helping there either. I will have to speak with him soon.’_ Dumbledore thought.

-=-=-=-=-

** _Hogwarts Head Boy’s Quarters, Gryffindor Tower._ **

Harry looked at the clock above the fireplace as he sat on one of the sofas in their Private Common Room, it was getting close to 9pm, and Harry was starting to get ‘hungry’ again, he could tell Hermione was too, though neither of them could do anything, as Sirius was due to call any minute.

Suddenly, the fire flared into a roaring flame and turned green, then Sirius’s head appeared.

“Sirius!” Harry said, getting up off the couch and getting down to sit on the rug in front of the fire, joined by Hermine a moment later.

“Hey pup, Hermione, how are you guys doing?” Sirius asked.

“We’re doing ok, thank you.” Hermione replied, smiling.

“We can’t talk long though Sirius, Hagrid is coming by at about 1am to pick me up, says he wants to show me something.”

“_Us_ Harry, he’s coming to pick _us_ up. Whatever he’s showing you, he can show me.” Hermione said, determined. Sirius smiled, this was really bringing back memories for him.

“Well, I won’t be here that long. So, what _exactly_ has been going on with you two and Malfoy? You said he’d cursed you, and that you were managing it with ‘treatments’, what treatments? You also said you’d explain more later. Now it’s later. So spill!” Sirius said.

So they told him everything. Including their new living arrangements and what they had to do for each other, and Hermione’s theory as to why.

Harry snorted “If Draco wanted to kill off the Potter bloodline, there are easier ways for him to do it.”

Sirius scowled, letting out a small growl. “That little shite will pay Harry, I promise, he’s going to get a nasty shock when he comes of age, hopefully sooner.”

“How? There can’t be much you can do.” Hermione said, Sirius nodded.

“True, I can’t legally expel him from the Black Family and disinherit him, only my successor can do that, or unless I’m cleared, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon. But there are things I can do, such as visit Gringotts and update my Will, and make it official, along with what I’m about to do in relation to you pup.”

“What do you mean?” Harry asked. Sirius grinned.

“I’m naming you my heir. That means if anything happens to me, everything in my name, as the current Lord Black, will pass to you.”

Harry was speechless, as was Hermione.

“I…Sirius…I don’t know what to say.”

Sirius grinned “Well, ‘Thank you’ would be a good plane to start, followed by ‘Don’t be in a hurry to die.’”

“Thank you, Sirius.” Harry said, smiling, his eyes pricking with tears as he felt Hermione wrap her arms round him in a hug. Sirius watched them, smiling at them with pride. They were so much like Lily and James it was almost frightening, it filled him with warmth and sadness. He really missed his friends.

“Ok, I’m gonna leave you guys to your evening, if you find out what the Task is let me know before hand ok?” They nodded. And with a last smile, he was gone, the fire calming and returning to normal.

-=-=-=-=-

Hagrid came to collect them outside of the Fat Lady’s portrait at exactly 1 am, just as he said he would.

Though Hermione was hidden with Harry under his cloak, Hagrid was initially hesitant to bring her along, but Harry said he would have just told her anyway, so the half-giant relented.

It took a while, but they eventually made their way out of the castle and into the Forest, huddling closer to Harry as they entered the trees, and noises that did not belong to the forest became audible.

As they came to the edge of a clearing, Harry paused as he felt Hermione stiffen next to him, even pressing closer to him. Harry saw off to the side Igor Karkaroff with Krum, and on the other side, Maxime with Fleur, but there was no sign of Cedric. Harry scowled.

“I don’t see Cedric.” He whispered, “Look, there’s Karkaroff and Krum, and over there, there’s Maxime and Fleur. But no Cedric…”

Hermione didn’t respond, her gaze was focused forward on the clearing, and the four large cages, with numerous people buzzing around them. It was what was inside the cages that had caught her attention.

Dragons.

Four of them. All looking incredibly agitated, and angry, all snapping at the humans running around, occasionally breathing jets of flame and roaring.

“‘Ello Charlie!” Hagrid called, drawing the attention of one of the wizards who came over. He looked like a younger Arthur, or and older Percy. His red hair giving him away as a Weasley even from a distance.

“Evening Hagrid, nice bunch aren’t they? Swedish Short-snout, Welsh Green, Chinese Fireball and Hungarian Horntail. Each with a freshly laid clutch. Though it’s odd that they requested four, not three. It was a close thing, getting the Horntail, we almost had to get one of the Nadders or Nightmares.”

“Oh? Didn’t think there were any of those Northern species left.” Hagrid said, raising a bushy eyebrow.

“Very few. That’s why we’re glad we were able to get the Horntail, the other dragon species are so critically endangered, that the wardens on the preserves that have them would probably have refused to lend them if we’d asked.” Charlie said.

Harry and Hermione exchanged looks, they’d never heard of Nadders or Nightmares, they had no idea what kind of dragons they could be.

“So, how come there’s a fourth Dragon in the rositor?” Charlie asked.

“A fourth name came outta the Goblet.” Hagrid said.

“What?! Who? _HOW?_” Charlie asked in shock.

Hagrid looked at the two concealed Gryffindors, a slightly apologetic look on his face.

“Well, that’s the thing ya see. It was Harry’s name that came outta the Goblet.”

“What? How the bloody hell did he manage that?” Charlie asked. Harry growled, scowling, clenching his fists. Hermione took one of his hands in hers, silently offering her support. Hagrid cleared his throat.

“Well…’e claims he didn’ put ‘is name in, that someone else musta done it.” Hagrid said. Charlie thought for a moment, then sighed.

“Well, I’m guessing Ron isn’t too happy about this. I sent him a letter couple of days ago letting him know I was coming in, and that I was bringing some Dragons with me for the First Task. I’m guessing he hasn’t told Harry about them.”

“No. He did not.” Harry growled quietly. His words drowned out by the dragons, but Hermione heard him. She let go of his hand and instead wrapped an arm around him in a hug, which he returned.

“Don’t think he has yet.” Hagrid said, shaking his head. Charlie sighed.

“Guess I’ll have a word with him.”

“Well, I need ta be gettin’ back. It was nice seein’ ya again Charlie. Good night.”

“Same to you Hagrid.” Charlie said.

-=-=-=-=-

“Dragons…_Dragons_. We’re supposed to be facing Dragons! How the hell are we supposed to do that?!” Harry said as soon as they were in their Common Room, and Hagrid had left. The intention to tell him about the curse forgotten.

“Nesting females at that! Are they completely insane?” Harry ranted, huffing as he started to pace. Hermione looked at the clock, it was nearly 2 in the morning.

“We’ll figure this out Harry, you and me, together. And we’ll warn Cedric tomorrow, that’ll give you and him two days to prepare.” Hermione said, before she drew him into a comforting hug.

“For now though, we need to get to bed, I’ll even join you tonight, I doubt you want to be alone right now.” Hermione said, drawing back to look at him. He _did_ look tired, though that was probably due more to the actual time than anything else.

Harry paused then nodded tiredly, suppressing a yawn, then pulling back. “I think I’d like that.” And with that, the two of them headed for his room.

-=-=-=-=-


	8. The First Task

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas folks! (for those that celebrate it) Hope you all have a wonderful holiday and a happy new year!
> 
> I know I said that I'd hoped to get the Yule Ball chapter out in time for Christmas, but my schedule got thrown off a bit, so you'll be getting that some time in January.
> 
> Instead, you get my rendition of the first task, with a special little twist at the end, I think, and hope, you guys will like it. Please let me know what you thought.
> 
> Now, enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter 8: The First Task.**

** _Tuesday, November 22nd, 1994._ **

**Head Boy’s Quarters, early morning.**

Harry was warm. That was the first thing he noticed as his mind started to wake up. The second thing he noticed was that he was laying on his back, and he had a rather prominent morning erection. The third thing he noticed, was that it was wet. Very wet. And somewhere hot. And _tight._

As he blinked, one hand came up to rub his face, while the other went down under the quilt to investigate, and quickly found a soft head of bushy hair over his erection. He quickly reached for his glasses and put them on, then lifted the blanket and looked down his naked torso into the smiling brown eyes of his equally _very_ naked bushy-haired bedmate and best friend, who smiled around the hard penis she was gently suckling when her eyes met his, and she winked.

“Mmm…Hermione?” he asked groggily.

Hermione slowly dragged her mouth up his shaft, until just the crown was left between her pink full lips, until it came free of its wonderful prison with a wet ‘pop’ and she sighed and started to lick and kiss the shaft.

“Morning Harry.” She purred, “Hope you don’t mind, I woke up a short while ago and found this rather impressive wand of yours poking me rather insistently between my legs, so I thought I’d have a little bit of a pre-breakfast breakfast, if you know what I mean.” She ended her statement by taking his shaft back into her mouth and slowly, gently sucking it as she went down, taking nearly all of it.

“Uhh…oh Merlin…I…No…I don’t mind…at all…oh man that feels nice…” he replied, smiling as he started to gently caress her head. She smiled up at him again and started to suck a little harder.

She also started to hum while she gently bobbed her head, keeping eye contact with him as much as she could. Each time she drew back enough so that only his tip was in her mouth, she lavished it with her tongue. She was still learning what he liked, and what worked best, but she was nothing if not a fast learner, and she was getting _lots_ of practice.

Then she tried something new. She started humming again, but this time, it wasn’t a drawn-out purr, it was a melody, something that reminded her of a John Williams tune.

Harry gasped, tensing, his hips moved of their own accord as he thrust upwards a little, Hermione backed off, but didn’t take him out of her mouth. He looked down, an apology on his lips, but it never left them as he met her eyes, dark with lust and hunger, as she descended, taking his entire length into her mouth, even pushing down the flesh of his pubic mound, giving herself an extra inch to enjoy.

“H—Her—Hermione!" he choked, not sure how long he could hold on with the exposed head of his dick being squeezed and massaged by the top of her throat. Her eyes started to water as she felt her gag reflex start to fight back against the object she was taking into her throat, she silently hoped that with enough time, and practice, she’d learn to ignore it. she closed her eyes and continued to suck, pausing every few moments to take a deep breath through her nose, her lungs filling with his intoxicating musk.

She shivered as another surge of arousal shot through her, she felt her nipples tingle and harden even more than they already were, if that were possible. Her erect clitoris, which was protruding from it’s protective hood and through her labia throbbed almost painfully, and she moaned, almost whimpered with desire. She wanted him. _Badly._ And she didn’t want to just suck his balls dry, she wanted to mount him. To straddle his waist and impale herself on this delicious piece of meat she was currently devouring as best she could.

She thought back to what she’d said on Sunday in the Hospital wing before she’d straddled his face then 69’d him, remembering the panic she’d felt, and she mentally snorted and rolled her eyes. She’d been an idiot to be so worried. The damage to their reputations that she’d feared hadn’t happened. Sure, she and Harry had been forced into living close quarters, and forced to do things that normally, they’d only be doing if they were dating, though not as often, but if she was honest with herself, she was learning to cope rather well, and quickly. Far quicker than she’d first thought, and she’d told the truth the day before, when she’d told Harry, rather bluntly, that she would not only have been willing to do this if he’d ask, and the curse wasn’t in play, she also admitted, to him and to herself, that she _enjoyed_ this.

As she worked, she also started to think more about her feelings for him, and she found herself pondering one question in particular: How long would it be before they were officially dating? They were already as intimate, if not _more_ so, that most couples who had been dating a few weeks or months, and it had only been two days! Two days, and despite the few times they’d ‘fed’ each other, they’d only seen each other naked once; that first time in the Hospital Wing, though Harry at first had been too exhausted to really take much notice, though his minor emotional crisis after the fact had shed light on why he hadn’t really looked at her once he was strong enough.

_‘That’s something I really need to work on. And sooner, the better. If it will take me being his girlfriend to convince him that everything he’s been told his wrong, then that is what I will be.’_ She paused her internal dialogue, lifting her head to leisurely suck on his glans, licking his frenulum with long gentle strokes, which she’d learned, he really liked. _‘Besides, considering how much we care about each other, and what we’re doing, I’m surprised we _haven’t_ declared our true feelings to each other yet…and then there was last night…’_ she paused as she felt his shaft twitch then swell a little, accompanied by Harry’s grunted cry.

“Her…Hermione! I’m—“ his words turned into a choked gasp as she felt his shaft pulse in her hand, and her mouth was filled with the warm, thick, sweet liquid she found herself starting to crave.

She moaned around his shaft as she hungry yet leisurely swallowed every trace, her fatigue leaving her as soon as she felt that warm, life-giving, and in her case, life-_saving,_ seed settle in her belly. She then slowly sat up, then raised herself up onto her knees, then shuffled forward until she was straddling his hips. The wet, saliva-coated glans of her lover’s penis just scant centimeters from her own dripping slit. It would be so easy. Just lower herself an inch, and he’d be inside her. Another two or three, and she’d no longer be a virgin.

She stopped herself, even as part of her, the part that was ruled by her snarling, screaming, _howling_ libido _demanded_ that she mount him and ride him until she _screamed_ in ecstasy, until that same life-giving seed filled her womb, met and fertilized one of her eggs and created new life within her…

_‘Whoa whoa whoa! Where the hell did _**THAT** _come from?! Hold your horses there Granger! You are TOO YOUNG to be thinking about babies!’ _

She shook her head, shaking that fantasy out of her mind, well, as much as she could, and looked down at him, smiling. “Look at me Harry.”

He did, his eyes trailing over her flushed face, neck and chest. Her breasts heaving as she breathed, her nipples hard points that capped each soft, firm mound. Her lips were swollen and red from sucking him, and between her legs, her other lips, still smooth, were _wet_. So wet in fact, that he could clearly see it, clinging to her labia and her clit, a few drops and even fallen out of her and onto his wet cock.

If he had to be honest, she was a vision of Devine beauty, and he would be perfectly ok waking up like this from now on.

“You’re…_beautiful_…Hermione.”

“Thank you. So are you, and sexy as hell.” She said, smiling at him, her eyes, still shining with carnal lust and desire, but he could also see another emotion he couldn’t quite put a name to. He took hold of her hips and tried to roll her onto her back so he could return the favor, but her next words stopped him cold.

“Shower with me.” Her words were a sultry purr as she smiled down at him.

“Are…are you sure?” he asked. She nodded.

“You. Me. Shower. Now.”

She then swung to the side and stood from the bed, holding out her hand. Harry took it and she pulled him up, then to his feet as she drew him into a hug, her chin resting on his shoulder, her naked front pressed against his. He pressed his face against her neck as he felt her arms go round him, hugging him tightly. He slowly, hesitantly brought his arms up around her, feeling her warm skin and body under and against his. He shivered, his semi-hard shaft bumped against her left thigh.

“See? This isn’t so bad is it? It’s perfectly normal and natural.”

Harry raised an eyebrow, even though she couldn’t see it. “It’s perfectly normal for two teenaged kids who aren’t dating to hug each other while naked?” He asked, not bothering to try and stop the cheeky grin that spread across his face.

“Prat!” She huffed, then grinned as she reached down and delivered a single smack to his right cheek.

“Ow! Hey!” He protested, pulling back, seeing the mischievous smirk on her face.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make it all better for you in the shower. Now come on, we’ve got about an hour and a half before breakfast.” She said as she turned and walked towards his bathroom, his eyes drawn to the firm cheeks as they swayed, despite his attempts to look else where.

-=-=-=-=-

A few minutes later, after they had each seen to their necessities, Hermione stepped into the large bath and reached to turn on the taps, redirecting the water to flow from the shower head as Harry stepped in beside her. Grabbing a flannel and some soap, they both started to lather up, before Hermione turned to him, her eyes once again dark with lust.

“You do me, and I’ll do you.” She said.

“You sure? I mean…” he paused, caught off guard. Her eyes narrowed.

“Remember what I said last night. If I this is what it takes to prove to you what we’re doing is completely normal, then so be it. Now, Harry…Touch me.” She said, her last words coming out as a purr, as she stepped out of the spray, facing away from him, arching her back, and pushing her bum towards him.

Harry gulped as he stepped forward, and he started to massage her shoulders with the flannel and a sponge. She moaned, bracing herself against the wall. Harry soon got into it, rubbing and massaging her back, slowly working his way down, occasionally going round her sides, then down her stomach.

“Mmmmm…_yeeessss_…” she moaned, pushing her hips back until her right cheek collided with his erection, and she giggled. _Giggled._ Harry blinked, he’d _never _known Hermione of all people to _giggle. _Then she did something he wasn’t expecting. She wiggled her hips. Feeling the warm smooth flesh of her butt rub against his hard shaft sent tingling sensation through it, making it harden and twitch against her just as she moved her hips to the right, pressing it between her cheeks. She sucked in a breath and pushed back against him as his hands moved down her back.

“Lower…” she panted, as she started to rock her hips, grinding against him.

“Are you _trying_ to make me cum again?” he asked with a strained voice as he did his best not to look down at her bum as it ground against him.

“Maybe…” she grinned over her shoulder, her pupils dilated, “Now, _put your damn hands on my arse Potter!_” she growled, grinding her rump into his groin insistently.

Not really knowing what else to do, he did just that. His hands, still covered with soap, moved down to cup the smooth, soft and warm globes of muscle, he gave them an experimental squeeze, and Hermione moaned in approval.

His mind was a mass of confusion however, he couldn’t understand why or how she was acting this way, as he remembered, she’d been that way the night before as well. _‘It’s almost like she’s been dosed with something…’_ he thought.

He forgot all about the water spraying over his back as he did as she instructed. _‘Wow…This is really…nice…and hot…she’s got a really nice bum.’_

For her part, Hermione's mind was fogged, clouded with desire. _‘Hmm…this feels nice…I could definitely get used to this…but what’s up with me? I mean sure, I really like this, but I at least thought I’d ask Harry to be my boyfriend officially before I dragged him into a bloody shower! We haven’t even properly _kissed _yet!’_ Hermione paused her musings as she gently rocked her hips against Harry's crotch, delighting in the new and erotic sensation of his hard shaft rubbing back and forth against the cheeks of her rump, and for a second, she debated whether or not to reach down and adjust his angle, press him against her dripping slit, then clamp her legs around him…but no, they didn’t have time for that, they had to get to breakfast and talk to Cedric. But first…

She turned around, breathing heavily as she panted with lust, her eyes dark and burning as she stared at him, her pupils dilated, her face, neck and breasts flushed. She reached down and grabbed his hands, she relinquished him of the flannel and discarded it, then shoved another bar of soap in his hand, before bringing both up to her breasts, and pressing them almost roughly to the soft mounds.

“Now my front…then I’ll do you…” she panted, _‘And I don’t _care_ if we’re late to breakfast, I’m gonna _DO_ you, Potter!’_

_‘Huh, ok, this is getting a little strange…a few minutes ago I was thinking how great it would be to have his kids…and now I’m thinking about just fucking him here in the shower…Something’s wrong Granger, you’ve either been dosed with a Lust Potion, or the Curse is affecting you _another_ way…Either way, you are _**NOT**_ ready to be a mum!’_ she thought, but she found it hard to focus on her internal ruminations as Harry's hands moved down her flat stomach, covering her in a generous layer of soap.

Then he was kneeling in front of her, a cushioning charm built into the bath easing any discomfort, as his hands moved down over her stomach, her mons, then between her legs, covering her in soap, then started to glide over her thighs, she spread them and looked down at him. _‘Mmm…though his hands _do_ feel nice…’_

She giggled as he gently coaxed her to raise each foot which he did his best to wash, then he stood and grabbed a shampoo bottle she’d put on the side of the bath, squeezed some into his hands, then prompted her to turn round. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back and sighed as he started to work the shampoo into her water-soaked hair and scalp.

“Ya know…a girl could get used to this sort of treatment…” she hummed.

Harry raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Is this your way of asking me out Hermione?”

“Ask me again in a day or two…” she sighed as she reached back with a hand and took hold of his shaft, which had softened somewhat with the lack of stimulation. _‘Hmm…can’t have that.’_ She thought, and began to gently stroke him.

“In two days I might be dead.” He said.

“Then I’ll make you a deal. Survive the Task, then you’ll get your answer.”

Harry thought about it, then nodded, as he reached for the shower head then started to rinse her hair, then the rest of her.

The following few minutes were filled with giggles and groans from his best friend as she writhed under the constant flow of warm water against her back and butt, then her legs, then she turned around again, and Harry started to wash her front. He paid careful attention to her breasts. Taking note of how her nipples had hardened under the gentle touch of his fingers, and the warm hard spray of the water. Once they were clean of soap, he moved the shower head down to her stomach, then leaned forward, taking a nipple into his mouth.

Hermione gasped and brought her arms up around him to cradle his head as he gently bit her nipple, then started to suck on it while he reached around her with his free hand and started to gently stroke her back.

Harry spent a few minutes gently nursing on the breast, before moving to the other one, he started to kiss and lick the smooth warm mound as it rose and fell with her breathing.

He then felt Hermione's hands disappear from his head, only to come back again against his back, and she started to move them up and down his back, over his shoulders, and even down over his butt. He let the shower head move a little further down her front and heard her sigh in bliss as he moved his free had down her back, then started to caress her cheeks.

“Harry……lower……_please!_” she whimpered, her voice thick with need.

Harry reluctantly broke away from her breast, then knelt again, kissing and licking his way down her stomach, paying attention to her belly button, as he’d found out she liked, before his lips ghosted over the smooth mons above her slit, before he finally reached it, angling the spray of water up to hit her upper thighs as he diligently washed her.

Putting down the shower head, he gently took her by the hips, then coaxed her to turn around again, until he was staring at the firm cheeks of her butt. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he leaned in and pressed his lips to the right cheek.

He felt her shiver. He smiled.

He pressed his lips to the warm, soft flesh again, holding the contact for a full ten seconds this time, then he pulled away, and looked up at her as she let out a little moan.

“That’s not…what I meant…” she said breathlessly, looking over her shoulder at him. He smiled.

“What can I say? This is the first time I’ve seen it properly this close since Sunday, I never really got the chance the other times, and I felt it deserved some attention too. Hope you don’t mind.”

“Oh no…I don’t mind…though I’m not quite sure about…” she trailed off. He nodded, then leaned in and kissed her left cheek several times, before gently running his fingers between them to get all the soap off her, then he used his thumbs to spread the globes of muscle as much as he could, and got his first proper look since Sunday morning, he unconsciously licked his lips as he stared, and he felt his hard shaft _throb._

He heard Hermione suck in a breath and he looked up, just in time to see her turn her head away, her face tomato red.

“I know, I know, it doesn’t look that great.” she asked, her voice thick with embarrassment. He raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“It’s beautiful Hermione. Just like the rest of you.” He said, releasing his grip, he then coaxed her to turn around again and sit down on the edge of the bath. She sat, spreading her legs and letting him get a good look at her swollen labia.

“It’s just my arse Harry.” She shrugged, rolling her eyes.

“Yes, and I think it’s beautiful, I’d happily lavish as much attention on to that as I would the rest of you, if we had the time right now, but we don’t. But, I will be giving it plenty of attention in the future.” He started to lean forward towards her pussy, he could feel the effects of the curse getting a little stronger, then he paused and looked up to see her smirking down at him, a smug expression on her face.

“What?”

“Still think it’s un-natural for you to be doing this? Still think it’s not normal for teenagers our age to be fooling around like this?” she asked, a knowing gleam in her eye. Harry blinked, confused. Had she…? Was all this…?

“This was all meant to just get me over my hang-ups, wasn’t it?” he asked, looking up at her with a frown.

Hermione bit her lower lip, trying not to grin. “Maybe. Is it working?”

Harry paused a moment and thought. He thought over what he’d said to Hermione in a near hysterical panic two days earlier, and it finally hit him, what they’d been doing since, what they were doing now, sure, it wasn’t quite normal in the _current_ context, but overall, it _was_ normal for teens their age and older to fool around, and Hermione had been _right_. His Aunt and Uncle _HAD_ been referring specifically to him.

Well…he’d show them…he’d show them just how _‘freakish’_ and _‘abnormal’_ he could _really_ be…but first…he’d show _Hermione._

Lifting her legs until her knees were resting on his shoulders, he started to kiss and lick his way up her thighs. He felt her shiver again, and her breathing started to increase in tempo. When he reached the junction of her thighs he stared at her swollen vulva, the outer lips parted and flushed with blood, her inner lips swollen and dark pink, and right at the top, her erect clitoris protruded from under it’s protective hood.

He was still learning what Hermione liked best, which spots were best to lick, which to suck and which to avoid, but as with DADA, and Transfiguration, he considered himself a fast learner in the academic field of eating pussy. He rolled his eyes and almost started laughing. If there ever was an OWL or NEWT exam for devouring Hermione's fanny like it was his last meal, he’d expect nothing less than an _Outstanding with Honours_ from her afterwards.

He leaned in that final inch, until his nose brushed her labia and clit, and took a _deep_ breath. The musky scent of a nights sleep was gone, replaced by the sweet smell of the soap, but also, he could detect the earthy, tangy female musk that was uniquely her, and her arousal. He shivered in arousal, he felt his shaft start to tingle at the scent of her need.

“Uh…Harry…? Why are you sniffing my fanny?” Hermione asked, her voice thing with desire.

_§"Because you smell as beautiful as you look. And taste.”§_ he hissed.

“Um…why are you hiss_IIINNAAAIIIEEAAAHHH!_” Hermione's question dissolved into a high-pitched cry as what she could only describe, if she still had the mental ability to do so, an explosion of pure _bliss_ erupted from her crotch as soon as Harry's tongue touched her clitoris, her body seized up as pleasure unlike any she’d felt before washed over her and she started to convulse. Reaching down, she roughly grabbed his head and gave it a firm, almost violent _shove,_ pressing his face as tight against her vagina as she could, which only increased the contact, and her euphoria.

Harry would have grinned at his little performance, amazed he could bring her off that quickly, if he’d been able to. He grunted in mild discomfort as she grabbed his head and hair roughly, before forcing his face tighter against her, his tongue going deeper, which only made her more insistent.

Her body stiffened the jerked, her thighs closing tightly around his head, his nose was pressed against his upper lip making it very difficult to breathe. He idling wondered what it would be like to be suffocated by Hermione's fanny, or her rather nice boobs, or maybe even her nice bum, and he found himself deciding, as a rush of sweet, hot liquid Treacle Tart _flooded_ his mouth, that any one of those three options, would be positively the _best_ way ever to die.

Hermione _screamed._

-=-=-=-

As they walked into the Great Hall for breakfast, Harry found a new sense of self-confidence flow through him. Hermione's little trick to get him over the self-doubt issues his relatives had instilled in him had worked remarkably well, and _quickly_. Far more quickly than she thought it would, he reasoned.

As for Hermione, she was still smiling, though it was now just a slight smile, as opposed to the almost Joker-like grin she’d had once she’d regained consciousness. Though her face as still flushed with a blush, it wasn’t as noticeable as it had been. And while she could now stand, and walk, as Harry had to literally carry her out of the bathroom when she could talk enough to tell him they had to get ready, as her legs refused to work, she was still walking a little unsteadily, almost with a constant limp, for that reason, she was now hanging on to his arm as he approached the Hufflepuff table, giving a slight nod to Susan, who nodded back, then cast a questioning look at Hermione, who just grinned at her, and gave her a shaky thumbs up.

“You need something Potter?” Cho Chang, a Fifth Year Ravenclaw asked, who was sat next to Cedric. Harry gave her a cursory look. She was beautiful, there was no denying that, but there was just something…_off_ about her that seemed to put him on edge for some reason, something that warned him to stay away. He mentally shrugged, then looked at Cedric.

“Dragons.” He said.

“What?” Cedric asked. Harry fixed him with a look.

“The First Task is Dragons, nesting females to be precise.” Harry said. Cedric blinked, his eyes widening as he realized Harry wasn’t joking.

“Fuck…” he muttered.

“Tell me ‘bout it.” Harry muttered. “They had a…er…” Harry trailed off, trying to remember.

“Swedish Short-Snout, Chinese Fireball, Common Welsh Green, and Hungarian Horntail.” Hermione said.

Cedric whistled. “Damn…well…at least now I know what I’m up against. Well…Thanks…Harry, Hermione.” Cedric said, offering Harry a smile and a nod of thanks. Harry returned it, then guided Hermione to the Gryffindor table. They sat down, and quickly started to eat. To Hermione's left sat Lavender, who was giving her an odd look, to Harry's right sat Neville, who was looking a little embarrassed, avoiding their questioning gazes.

Ron sat opposite Harry, scowling, his face a mask of jealously and barely concealed fury. Harry ignored him. Ginny looked equally as jealous, for some reason. The twins were smirking, as were some of the other boys, and even a couple of the girls, though the younger years just looked confused.

“You alright there Harry?” Lavender asked, grinning.

“Sure, why wouldn’t I be?” he replied as he loaded up his plate.

“Well, you got here from the Hospital Wing pretty fast.”

Harry raised an eyebrow as he looked at Lavender, who wiggled her eyebrows and winked at him. “Lavender, I wasn’t in the Hospital Wing, I was in Gryffindor before coming down here.”

“Oh, I _know_ that Harry, what I meant was, you must have had to go to the Hospital Wing to get your hearing fixed after Hermione's little Opera performance!” she said with a salacious grin.

Hermione froze, her eyes going wide as the blush that lightly dusted her cheeks came back full force, and she had to resist the urge to either spit out the food she was currently chewing or swallow it and risk choking.

_‘Oh sweet Morgana! They heard me?!’_

“What are you talking about?” Harry asked, he knew of course, but for Hermione's privacy, he was doing his best as her best friend to protect her.

“Don’t play dumb Potter.” Parvati said, rolling her eyes “We both know, hell, we _all_ know what that was. Is he really that good Hermione?” she asked. Hermione felt her face set itself on fire.

“I didn’t do anything!” Harry deflected, his own face blushing.

“That red face of yours says otherwise Potter.” Seamus said, smirking. Dean was snickering, as was Fay and her friend.

“You’re many things Harry, but a good liar is not one of them. I highly doubt Hermione would be able to do a passible impression of a Banshee while in bed on her own. I should know, I’ve spent the last three years sharing a dorm with her.” Lavender said, chuckling, noting the almost hostile looks from the two youngest Weasleys, she mentally rolled her eyes. _‘Those two need to get over themselves. Especially Ron.’_

“I wasn’t in bed! I was in the shower!” Hermione ground out, fighting her embarrassment. “You…heard that?” she asked, her voice coming out as a high-pitched squeak.

Fay whistled “Really? That must have been one damn good shower head then.”

“Hermione, we _ALL _heard that! I’d be surprised if the folks down in Hogsmeade, or everyone in the Slytherin dorms didn’t hear you _screaming _your lungs and voice out. The question is, _whose_ shower?” lavender asked, waggling her eyebrows again.

Ron huffed, glared balefully at Harry, then returned to his food. If there was one thing that would always take priority over almost everything in Ron’s mindset, it was food.

_‘How is he not as big as Dudley or Uncle Vernon already? Where does he put it all?’_ he thought.

“Sooo…” Parvati said, looking at them, but before she could continue, Ron opened his mouth.

“I thought McGonagall said you couldn’t sleep together. So much for you respecting the rules Hermione.” He said, glaring at them. Hermione rolled her eyes.

“Well, _excuse_ me for not wanting to let Harry sleep alone after finding out he’ll be facing a nesting female dragon on Thursday!”

“What?” Seamus asked. Harry nodded.

“Yeah, we’re facing dragons, nesting females. I’m guessing there’s going to be something hidden in the eggs that we’re going to have to get, which means we have to get past the dragons.” Harry said in a funk.

Ron actually managed to look sheepish as he swallowed, then cleared his throat. “Oh…uh…knew there was something I forgot to mention.” He said, not looking at either of them.

“What do you mean?” Hermione asked, eyes narrowing.

“Uh, Charlie sent me a letter you see…he—”

“You knew.” Harry said, it wasn’t a question, he gave Ron a hard look.

“Uh…yeah…sorry mate.”

“How long have you known?” Hermione asked, her face darkening.

“Er…since Saturday?” Ron said.

“_SATURDAY?!_” Hermione cried, her face twisting into a scowl as a look of fury crossed her face. “You mean to tell us that you’ve _known_ about the first task for the past _three days_, and it never crossed your mind to come to the Hospital Wing and, oh, I don’t know, _tell us?!_”

“Uh…well…” Ron said, avoiding eye contact.

“Unbelievable! And just _when_ were you planning to tell him Ron?” Hermione growled.

“Uh…” Ron said, not sure what to say. Harry put a hand on her shoulder.

“Easy Hermione, what’s done is done, let’s just focus on classes.” Hermione sighed, then went back to her food.

“Fine.”

Viktor Krum had stopped at the Gryffindor table and asked Hermione, rather brokenly, if she would be willing to meet him in the library later to help him practice his English, though Hermione had been a little confused, commenting that his grasp of English seemed fine, it was just her name he seemed to be struggling with. But she did agree, as she reasoned there was no harm in meeting someone just to talk, though she silently promised herself that was all they would do. She told him she would be able to meet him after dinner that evening, and she’d meet him then.

While she ate, Hermione started to feel heat spread through her, a heat she recognized, and before she knew what was going on, one of her hands had slipped under the table and into Harry's lap, and one of his soon landed in hers, fortunately, they were both eating something that didn’t really require two hands.

_‘What the…What’s wrong with us?’_ Hermione though, trying to pull her hand away, as the breakfast table was not the place for such things, but found she couldn’t, or rather, didn’t really want to, and she gave his thigh a squeeze, before moving her hand higher. She looked to her left and met his eyes, she could see the lust burning in them that she knew he was seeing in her own. She bit her lip to try and fight the blush she knew was forming, fortunately, no-one seemed to notice, she hoped, as she felt herself suddenly overcome with the desire to slip her hand into Harry's boxers and stroke him _raw_.

At the Head Table, Dumbledore watched them, carefully, noticing the looks on their faces as they ate, and he smiled to himself, the potion was working. That smile faded when he saw Hermione, then Harry, drop a hand under the table, and they both blushed as they shared a look.

He silently cursed. That had _not_ been what he’d intended! Though, in hindsight, he should have expected it. He’d have to be more careful, though he did see Krum’s interaction with her, and if they were still under the effects of the Potion later, then Miss Granger might actually make a move.

-=-=-=-

History of Magic was as boring as it ever was, with Harry struggling to focus on Binns, so he decided to focus on his other course work instead.

During his free period afterwards, Harry told Hermione that he was going up to the Room to try and practice the summoning charm, it took a while, with the room creating a table and several objects of varying size and weight, along with a blackboard with clear instructions on wand movements and pronunciation, eventually, he managed to get it right, summoning every object to him.

Except…he did not get quite the result he expected. He aimed his wand at a large bust statue he’d asked the room to make, someone random, he hadn’t been too specific, intending to summon only that, and not the various other objects on the table, from a glass bottle to a heavy book.

_Everything_ came flying at him too fast for him to react, _including_ the table.

_“Holy Shi—!"_ Harry yelped, as he moved, trying to doge, but didn’t get very far before he was buried.

-=-=-=-

Hermione meanwhile, had sat herself down in the library at her usual table with Viktor, and the two had started talking.

“You are looking vell.” He said, offering her an awkward smile. Hermione gave him a courteous smile in return, ignoring the faint giggles of the group of girls who followed Krum around like sheep. _‘Is this what it was like for Harry at first?’_ she thought.

“Thank you Viktor. I’m feeling a lot better now I’m out of the Hospital Wing.” Hermione replied.

“So Vhat happened? You seemed very tired during ve veekend, and I did not zee you in ve village.”

Hermione nodded, then paused, wondering how well she could trust this man, he seemed sincere, but she had to be sure.

“If you want me to tell you, you must first promise not to spread it around. I don’t want the entire school knowing. I shudder to think what kind of reputation I could get if it got out.”

He nodded. “I promise.” He said, reaching out and placing his hand on one of hers. She frowned.

“Well…” she lowered her voice and leaned forward a little “…It’s called the ‘_Gift_ _of_ _Aphrodite’_ or the ‘_Kiss_ _of_ _The_ _Succubus’_ depending on who you ask, apparently.”

Viktor’s eyes went wide, and he sucked in a breath, leaning back in his seat. He regarded her carefully, his eyes, which she had noticed carried a certain determination, seemed to dim slightly, as she saw resignation flash in his eyes.

“So…You und Harry Potter?” he asked, she nodded.

“I am sorry.”

“For what?”

“For asking you to accompany me to vhe Village during vhe weekend, und for asking you here. I had hoped to ask you to accompany me to vhe Yule Ball, I had intended to approach him and ask his permission to approach you, but now, I think it best if I not.”

“What? Wait…you _know_ about this curse? What it…does?” she asked. He nodded, a look of sympathy, and a small amount of envy in his eyes.

“Ja. Zere are books at Durmstrang. It is not taught, but it is discussed.”

Hermione felt a spark of hope ignite within her, if Krum knew about the curse, then maybe…

“Do you know of a cure? One that won’t leave me and Harry sterile and sexually…stunted?” she asked, struggling for the right word to describe what would happen to them, mentally and emotionally. Krum shook his head sadly.

“I am afraid not.” He said, his tone and expression apologetic.

Hermione sighed and rested her head in her hands. “Well, that’s just _great_.”

-=-=-=-

Potions was its usual headache, with Snape once again stepping up his harassment of the Gryffindors as usual. Malfoy sent Harry and Hermione menacing scowls, while Daphne did her best to send them her support, though she couldn’t do much. She was still expecting Draco to make a move against her for taking the book, as the forgery she’d created would have expired by now.

But still, he had yet to make his move.

As they made their way through the corridors towards the Great Hall for dinner, they spotted Moody ambling towards them.

“Potter!” he called.

“Yes sir?” Harry asked, drawing to a stop, Hermione and Daphne stopping with him.

“So, you know about the First Task I assume? Saw you talking to Diggory at breakfast, good lad, though you didn’t hear that from me.”

Harry nodded “It was only fair, as he was the only one who wasn’t told.”

“Wait, you all know? Isn’t that against the rules?” Daphne asked. Harry shrugged.

“Maxime and Karkaroff were also there with their Champions so…I figured it wouldn’t be right if Cedric was the only one who didn’t know. I like fair play.”

Moody grinned. “Well, you didn’t hear this from me, but…might I suggest you play to your strengths? Do what you’re best at.” And with that, he turned and headed off.

“What did he mean by that?” Daphne asked. They shrugged.

“By the way, how are you guys coping with…you know.” Daphne said, looking slightly embarrassed. Hermione blushed, remembering that morning in the shower, and what Harry had done to her.

“Rather well, actually, we’re still trying to work out a schedule, and how many times we need to do it, but on average, we’ve got it to three or four times a day.” Hermione said, as they started walking again.

“Sooo…what’s it like?”

“Daphne!”

“What? Can’t a girl be curious? I’ve never had my fanny licked before! I’m curious to know what it feels like!”

Harry did his best to pretend he was invisible, wishing for a moment, that he had his cloak with him, he could feel the heat coming from his face.

“Well, if Luna was serious about that offer on Sunday, my period is coming up next week, so Harry may need some…help.”

“I’ll be fine! And I’m right here you know.” He protested.

“Really?” Daphne asked, her eyes lighting up as she then glanced from one blushing Gryffindor to the other.

Truth be told, she’d thought Luna had only been half joking when she’d made the offer, but she suspected the girl hadn’t been joking at any level. Though she had told Susan she’d be willing, if Harry asked.

Hermione nodded.

“Well, I know Susan offered to help, Luna did on Sunday, and I guess yes, I’d be willing too…I guess.” Daphne said.

“Look, I’ll be fine! Don’t worry!” Harry protested. Hermione narrowed her eyes.

“Harry James Potter, if I find that you’ve been neglecting your…_diet_…after my period is over, I will be _very_ unhappy with you!” he gulped, paling a little, Daphne smirked.

“And an unhappy girlfriend means a boyfriend sleeping on the sofa.” She quipped. Both of them blushed again as the approached the entrance to the Hall.

“We’re not dating!” Harry said.

“Why?” Daphne asked, genuinely curious.

“Well, we’re still working through some of his hang-ups, plus like I told him, a relationship based purely on sex is a _very_ bad idea.”

Daphne rolled her eyes. “Obviously! But you’ve already got everything else covered.”

“What do you mean?” Harry asked.

_‘Seriously?’_ she thought, sighing. “Well, you trust each other, you respect each other, you care for each other, you care what happens to each other. What more do you need? You’ve already got all the groundwork covered.”

“She wants me to ask her after the First Task.” Harry said.

“Well then, I’ll be keeping my ears open.” Daphne said with a smile as the two Gryffindors took their seats, and she headed for the Slytherin table and sat by her sister.

-=-=-=-

During dinner, Ron continued to glare at them, though Ginny seemed more sullen, choosing to ignore them, which was fine with Harry, he didn’t want to deal with Ron right now, especially since he’d ‘accidently’ forgot to mention the Dragons before now.

“So…” Lavender said as she tucked into her meal, Hermione and Harry sat opposite her.

“’So…’ what?” Hermione asked.

“_Why_ did McGonagall feel the need to stick you two in private quarters? She hasn’t told us anything, Parv and I even asked, and she said that it wasn’t her place to tell, that we’d have to ask you, and not to pester you if you decided not to tell us.”

Harry and Hermione looked at one another, then at Lavender, then around the table.

“Well, we were cursed, and the resultant effects of the curse and the means by which we have to deal with it are of a personal nature, and Professor McGonagall felt it necessary. We will give you the details, when we’re ready.”

“But…” Lavender began, but was cut off by Parvati. “She’s right Lav, some things just don’t deserve to make the gossip rounds.” Her statement earned her a thankful look from the two in question, and a confused, slightly betrayed look from her fellow gossip queen.

“Fine…” she huffed, continuing with her meal.

-=-=-=-

Later, after dinner, as they left the Great Hall, Hermione came up next to him, leaning in. “Come on, lets go to the Room and try the shield charm. Did you have any luck with the summoning charm?”

“Uh…yeah…sorta.”

“Sorta?” she asked.

“Yeah…I asked the room to make a few things for me to practice on, but when I got it, I got buried under all of it.” he said sheepishly, her eyes widened.

“Show me.”

-=-=-=-

** _Wednesday, November 23rd_ **

The next day, the only lesson on Harry's timetable was for the day was Charms, the rest of the day Hermione had Harry sequestered in the Room of Requirement, practicing summoning and shield charms, as well as conjuring, and trying to come up with a strategy for dealing with the Dragon, which ever one he ended up facing.

They also asked the room to provide them with books on the four different dragon species, and they spent several hours going over each one, occasionally stopping for ‘breaks’ and asking the Elves to bring them food.

Though as to why Harry's summoning charm seemed to be over-powered, along with his shield charm, which had formed a hexagonal dome around both of them that resembled crystals, Hermione theorized that when Harry had used his Parselmouth on her, he’d performed the power-boosting ritual that the book they had mentioned. Hermione made a point to resume reading it, thoroughly.

-=-=-=-

** _Thursday, November 24th,_ **

Harry entered the Champion’s tent, which was just outside of the specially built arena that would house the dragons for the first task. Followed by Hermione, meeting the eyes of Cedric, Fleur and Viktor. Bagman, Crouch and Dumbledore entered a few moments later, Bagman carrying a small bag in his hands.

“Champions! I hope you’re ready! In this bag you will find a scale model of what you’ll be facing, each one with a tag baring a number, that number will indicate in what order you will go in. Your objective is to take the Golden Egg from the nest that the creature you’ll have to use all your skill, cunning and wit to get past, will be guarding.” He then opened the bag and offered it. “Ladies first.” He said, offering Fleur his attempt at a friendly smile, but she just scowled at him and reached in, pulling out a ten-inch-long model of a dragon, with a tag baring the number **“2”**.

“Common Welsh Green.” Bagman said.

Cedric went next, pulling out a model with the tag **“1”**, and he rolled his eyes. “Figures.” he muttered.

“Swedish Short-Snout.” Bagman said.

Viktor was next, pulling out a model with the tag **“3”**.

“Chinese Fireball.” Bagman said, before offering the bag to Harry.

Harry rolled his eyes, knowing which Dragon he’d face. _‘Why am I not surprised?’_ he thought, reaching into the bag and pulling out the model of the Horntail with the tag **“4”**.

“Ah, the Hungarian Horntail, the biggest, most aggressive of them.”

“And whose _bright_ idea was it to get one of _those?_” Hermione snarked, glaring at Bagman.

The Ministry Drone had the sense of mind to look a bit flustered.

“Well…I…urm…” he took his hat off and scratched his head.

Crouch Snr scowled at her. “This tent is for _Tournament Champions_ only Miss Granger, I’m afraid you will have to leave, and you cannot stay here while the other Champions wait their turn.”

“It’s ok, she’s with me.” Harry said, Crouch gave him a look.

“The Rules are the Rules Potter.” His eyes narrowed “But then, that never really applied to you, did it.”

Harry scowled, Hermione bristled, grinding her teeth as her fists clenched, and as the man left the tent, Hermione growled under her breath, glaring two holes into his back.

“Arsehole…” she growled through her teeth.

Harry snorted, as did Cedric, Fleur looked amused, and Krum smirked. Ludo looked embarrassed, Maxime chuckled, as did Karkaroff. Dumbledore cleared his throat.

“Despite your assessment of him Miss Granger, Mister Crouch was quite correct, you will have to wait with the rest of the spectators in the stands I’m afraid. Come along now.” And with that, he turned to leave. “Good luck to you all.” He said as he left, followed by Maxime and Karkaroff.

“Go on Hermione, we’ll be fine.” Cedric said, smiling at her. She smiled back, before giving Harry a quick hug.

“You’d better live through this Potter; you still owe me an answer.”

One she was gone, Bagman cleared his throat.

“Ok, here’s how it goes. In 10 minutes, there will be a cannon blast, that will be your cue Mr Diggory, once you have the Egg and you reach the edge of the arena, a second cannon shot will sound, signaling the end of your task. 10 minutes after you’re done, another cannon will sound and then it’s Miss Delacour’s turn, and so on.”

The Champions exchanged looks, Ludo puffed himself up.

“Right then, good luck!” and with that, he ducked out.

“Sooo…plans?” Cedric asked, feeling nervous, he was going _first_, after all.

“Survive?” Harry deadpanned. Cedric snorted.

“You faced a 60ft Basilisk in your second year Potter, a little lizard will hardly be any trouble for you.” Harry looked at him surprised, as did Fleur and Krum.

“Wait, how do you know about the Basilisk? I never told anyone besides Dumbledore, Hermione and…Ron, about that.” Cedric looked thoughtful.

“Weeell…there was the fact that all of the petrification victims were found near a reflective surface, except Justin, who saw it through a ghost. And to my knowledge, very little can affect a ghost. And the fact that Salazar was a known Parselmouth, so his creature would have to be _some_ kind of snake. And the Basilisk is the _only_ species of snake, magical or otherwise, that could live that long down in the chamber.”

“Huh…I wonder how many others have figured it out.” Harry mused. Cedric shrugged.

A few moments later, there was a low bang outside the tent, followed by a roar and a cheer from the crowd outside.

“Well…show time…” Cedric said nervously. Harry put a hand on his shoulder.

“You got this.”

“Thanks.” He said, taking a breath, he stepped out into the arena.

-=-=-=-

As Cedric walked out into the arena, the crowd applauded, cheering, Bagman’s voice echoing over the arena, but Cedric only had eyes for the Dragon, and what was behind it. There, in the clutch of blue eggs, about 10 of them, was a metal Gold Egg.

_‘Ok, that’s my target…now, how to deal with her…Swedish Short-Snout…Swedish Short-Snout…’_ he thought, trying to remember what he knew of the species from the books he’d read, thankful that Harry and Hermione had warned him ahead of time.

_"The Swedish Short-Snout is an attractive silvery-blue dragon whose skin is sought after for the manufacture of protective gloves and shields. The flame that issues from its nostrils is a brilliant blue and can reduce timber and bone to ash in a matter of seconds. The Short-Snout has fewer human killings to its name than most dragons, though as it prefers to live in wild and uninhabited mountainous areas, this is not much to its credit."_

Cedric rolled his eyes at the passage he’d read the day before from a copy of _‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.’_ While it told him what the dragon was, and how to identify it, it didn’t tell him how to deal with it.

The female was about 22ft long, tethered to the ground by a long chain which was attached to a collar. The chain was long enough to give the female plenty of space to move, but it did make sure she couldn’t escape.

Though Cedric had to admit, she was kind of beautiful, in a way.

She was also _agitated._ The noise from the crowd, Ludo’s insipid voice no doubt adding to the creature’s annoyance, along with the unfamiliar environment, and the fact that her eggs were there, the poor thing’s maternal and aggressive instincts were probably on overdrive.

As he approached, she spotted him, hissing and roaring, she snapped her head forward and unleashed a jet of blue flame at him, but he easily dodged it, given the distance between them.

If there was one thing Cedric excelled at, it was Transfiguration. Taking out his wand, he conjured several large rocks, then transfigured them into various animals; goats, sheep, and dogs, which started yapping. As the transfigured animals started running in all directions around the arena, the dragon went crazy, snapping, snarling and roaring at anything that moved. A jet of blue flame caught several of the sheep, setting them alight, and they bleated wildly as they ran in all directions, like small fiery comets. He would have chuckled at the sight, if his life wasn’t in mortal danger.

Another flick of his wand conjured some more, cows this time, and the female moved away from her nest. _Perfect_. Raising his wand, Cedric focused on the Golden Egg and muttered _“Accio!”_

Nothing happened.

He rolled his eyes. “Figures.” He muttered. “You had to know it wouldn’t be _that_ easy Diggory.” He said, chastising himself, he slowly crept forward, the dragon still attacking the conjured animals, her back to him. He had to be quick. If she turned around now, before he had the egg in his hands, he was dead. No amount of transfiguring or conjuring would help him, she’d ignore _everything_ and come right at him.

_“He’s almost at the nest!”_ came Ludo’s voice over the loudspeakers.

_‘Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!’_ Cedric's mind screamed as he grit his teeth in fury and concentration. Seriously?! Was that brainless dolt _TRYING_ to get him killed?!

If that dragon was smart enough to understand the English word for ‘nest’, he was a dead man.

He hadn’t been wrong though. Cedric was now just a few feet from the nest, another couple of steps, and he was standing next to it. Each egg was nearly a foot long, dark blue in color, with a slightly rough texture to it. The metal one stood out like a sore thumb. Bracing himself, Cedric leaned forward, and grabbed the gold egg with his hands. The metal was cold to the touch, unlike the warm eggs around it. He stood and turned and started to walk quickly away from the nest. The crowd started to cheer.

_“He’s got it! He’s got the Egg!”_ Ludo said. As he approached the hospital tent, the dragon finally got tired of attacking the animals which had suddenly appeared around it’s nest, and had turned back to her eggs, she saw the human walking away, that was good, he was leaving.

As Cedric approached the tent, Madam Pomfrey and Pomona Sprout came out to greet him, the crowd going wild as a cannon blast sounded, indicating he’d succeeded.

He looked back over his shoulder to see a group of Handlers moving to corral the dragon. He sighed.

-=-=-=-

Harry, Fleur and Krum exchanged looks at the second cannon blast. They hadn’t heard any of the commentary of course, but they hadn’t really said much to one another, all thinking on how best to deal with their own dragon.

Ten minutes later, at the third blast, Fleur knew it was her turn.

“Good luck.” Harry said.

“Merci.” She smiled.

As she stepped out into the arena, she got her first look at the female dragon she had to get past, she mentally ran through what she knew of the species: Usually very subdued, prefers to avoid human contact almost entirely. Prefers to live in mountainous regions. Melodious, almost musical roar. Adults average length of 18 feet.

It was then that Fleur spied the eggs. Earthy brown with green spots, and in the middle of the clutch, the Golden Egg, her target.

Fleur doubted whether her Allure would work on the dragon, since it was female, and was only trying to protect her young, which Fleur could relate to.

As she got closer, the dragon spotted her and hissed a warning, before sending a narrow jet of flame across her path. A warning shot. Fleur hesitated, while she, like all Veela and part-Veela were naturally immune to fire, her clothes were not, and that last thing she wanted was to be standing here in front of all these people stark _naked_. She smiled as she got an idea. Pointing her wand at her own throat, she muttered a spell that was known only to Veela, she then conjured a lyre, stowed her wand, then started to play.

When the crowd had quieted down, curiously listening to the music, and she knew she had the Dragon’s full attention, she put the next part of her plan into action.

She started to _sing._

The song she started to sing was an old French song, sung to her by her grandmother when she was little, it was meant to sooth all aggression in the one being sung to, the spell she’d cast on herself was a spell that allowed her to channel her Allure more directly through her voice, negating the need for her to turn her Allure up to maximum force, which would affect _everyone_ watching her. Still, even with this spell, and her words basically acting like a wandless sleeping spell, she was still using her Allure, so there was a strong possibility that several of the spectators would try to climb into the ring to get to her.

After a few minutes, she noticed that her tactic seemed to be working. The dragon had actually sat down, and was no longer hissing or growling, and in short order, was actually _laying_ down. Fleur watched it intently as she sang, its eyes were starting to drop.

It was _working._

She started to approach, the only sounds were her music and her voice, the crowd was completely silent, even Bagman wasn’t saying anything, no doubt the weak-minded fool was drooling in his seat.

By the time she was ten feet from the nest, the Dragon’s head flopped down onto the ground, it could barely keep its eyes open, but it was trying. And Fleur’s throat was starting to get sore, she hadn’t sang this long before, and she’d already got through two extra songs, she couldn’t keep this up much longer. If she stopped singing before the dragon passed out, it would shake off her spell and attack her.

Finally, as its eyes closed, Fleur moved forward to the nest, still singing, she bent down and picked up the gold egg, then turned away, and she stopped singing.

Fleur quickly walked away from the nest, as quietly as she could, occasionally looking back at the dragon, to check if it had woken up. It hadn’t. she walked past the Handlers who were now moving to corral it, looking up at the stands, she noticed most, if not _all_ of the male students in the audience, and even a few female students, at least those from Hogwarts, were staring at her gormlessly, some closer to the barrier were actively trying to clamber over, but were being held back.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

-=-=-=-

As the next cannon blast went off, Harry looked at his watch, he and Krum had been sat waiting for their turns for almost 40 minutes now, and from the sounds of it, Fleur and just finished her task. He was feeling mostly ok, just nervous as hell. He ran through what he’d learned the previous day on Dragons, knowing he had at least another 30 minutes or so before it was his turn.

“Do not vorry, she will do fine. So will you.” Came the deep accented voice of Viktor.

Harry smiled at him, nodding. While Cedric had been tackling his Dragon, Fleur and Krum had grilled him on the whole Basilisk thing, the two of them seeming very impressed at his achievement of killing a 20 meter long giant snake at the age of 12.

Krum looked like he wanted to say something, but hesitated, seeming a little uncomfortable, then decided to change his mind, and say something anyway.

“I hear you play Seeker for team.” He said, Harry nodded, smiling. Krum grinned.

“Ve have to have game some time, show me vhat you know.”

Harry smiled and nodded, feeling more at ease.

“Sure.”

After 10 minutes, the cannon sounded again, and Krum sighed and stood.

“Good luck” he said. Krum smiled and nodded in acknowledgement and stepped out.

It was impossible for him to miss the large red dragon that crouched protectively over her nest, her clutch of bright crimson eggs also impossible to miss, as was the gold egg in the middle of them.

The dragon snorted as she saw him, then roared, sending two plumes of flame at him, but he was able to side-step them. Quickly, Krum ran over what he knew of this particular dragon species. Very aggressive, though not as fiercely territorial as other species. Prefers a diet of mammals, specifically sheep and humans.

Krum thought fast, then waved his wand, conjuring several large rocks which he tried to transfigure into sheep, hoping some food would keep it distracted.

_“Ah! More conjuring and transfiguration! Lets see if that works as well for Mister Krum!” _Ludo’s voice echoed over the arena.

As the dragon snapped and lunged at the various animals, Krum moved closer. Unfortunately, he was not as lucky as Cedric, as the dragon turned around, drawn by the noise from the crowd, and saw him.

She snarled, roared, then charged.

_“Fuck!”_ Krum yelped in Bulgarian, jumping back to avoid the sharp teeth of the dragon as her jaws snapped shut right where he’d been standing, and she positioned herself between him and her eggs.

_‘Ok…now what?’_ he thought.

_“Oooh…that’s not good! Now Krum’s job just got harder!”_ Ludo’s voice echoed.

“Ja, just like your skull…” Krum muttered.

Krum thought for a moment, then he made his move. He made a feint to the left, then ducked right as the dragon lunged, firing off a blasting hex underneath her that struck the ground to her right, drawing her attention away from him, or at least, that’s what he’d hoped it would do. Unfortunately, it only seemed to make her angrier, and her attention remained on him.

_‘I did not want to do this…’_ he thought, as he turned, less than 10 feet from her now, though she’d moved away from her nest, she was still close enough to reach him with her jaws if he got close enough to grab it. At least that’s what he thought, but he’d apparently misjudged the distance, and before he knew it, she was almost on him.

Reacting quickly, he raised his wand and fired a _Conjunctivitis _curse at her face, temporarily blinding her.

The dragon shrieked in alarm as her eyes became irritated and swollen shut, and she started to panic. Thrashing around, she moved towards Krum, who rolled to the side then moved towards the nest, unfortunately for him, while the dragon couldn’t _see_ him anymore, she could still hear him.

She lunged again, he rolled, her jaws barely missing him, as he got to his feet, right next to the eggs, he reach down and grabbed the gold egg, then broke into a run as the Fireball came up behind him, still charging.

_“He’s got the Egg! He’s got the—Ooooh dear…THAT’s gonna cost him some points.”_ Ludo said, Krum looked over his shoulder as he ran, turning in the direction of the Hospital Tent, just as the Handlers came out to subdue her, she fired a burst of flame, which caught his arm.

Krum yelped, he couldn’t put down his egg while the Dragon was still mobile, and he couldn’t use his wand to put out the flames now burning his arm, so he just had to grit his teeth and bare the pain.

He _did_ notice however, when he looked back at the nest, through eyes which were rapidly filling with tears of pain, that the dragon, in her haste to kill him and protect her young, she’d accidently smashed about half of her clutch. Yellow yoke and the partially developed embryos spilling out onto the ground. He _winced._

Ludo was right. That _would_ cost him some points.

As he reached the Hospital Tent, the school’s resident Healer came out, brandishing her wand, as the Cannon fired.

-=-=-=-

Harry sat waiting, and thinking, going over his plan for the Horntail, remembering what he’d read from the book in the Library the day before.

He was _not _looking forward to this.

He also thought about Hermione, _really_ thought. How would she cope if he did screw up and got himself killed? How would she deal with, well…_everything._ He silently promised himself that she’d never have to find out.

He also thought about the proposal she’d sort of hinted at him.

Did he love Hermione? Sure, as a friend. He was willing to do anything for her if it meant her wellbeing. He thought back to how he’d visited her while she’d been petrified in Second Year, how he’d escorted her alone to the Hospital Wing after her Polyjuice mishap, and Ron had _laughed_ at her.

She hadn’t shown it there in the bathroom, but that had deeply hurt her. He’d seen the tears in her eyes as they’d walked under his invisibility cloak which he’d asked Dobby to get for him.

Then there was Third Year, and how she’d helped him not only rescue Buckbeak but Sirius also.

And then there was _this_ year. She’d believed him from the very moment his name had come out of the Goblet and he’d said he didn’t put his name in. True, Neville and the Weasley Twins believed him now, but no-one else did. Hopefully this would convince them that someone was trying to do him in.

_‘Though it’s not a very effective way to do it.’_ he thought.

And how had he repaid her loyalty? By holding her as he was hit with a curse that turned him into a human parasite.

_‘Though she insists I’m not. I just can’t help feel like I’m using her, taking advantage of her…’_ he thought.

Then the cannon fired again.

_‘Show time.’_

As he stepped out into the arena, the crowd cheered, _all_ of them. Apparently, the Hogwarts contingent had forgotten they believed him a cheat, at least for the moment.

_‘Or maybe they’re just eager to watch me get roasted.’_ He deadpanned.

He looked through the stands, his eyes quickly finding Hermione, who was sat with the rest of the Gryffindors, her eyes wide with fear, but also excitement.

When their eyes met, she gave him a shaky thumbs-up, and smiled, and mouthed ‘Good luck!’. He also saw Neville cheering and waving, as was Hagrid, McGonagall smiled at him, her expression one of worry. He also saw the Twins talking to various students. Harry raised an eyebrow.

Were Fred and George placing _bets_ on him?

He then turned and looked at the Horntail, who was at the other end of the arena, hunched low over her clutch of black eggs, her spiked tail swishing back and forth agitatedly, her yellow eyes focused only on him. The Gold one sat in the middle of them.

_‘Ok, lets get this show on the road…’_ he thought.

Walking forward, he ducked behind a rock as the dragon roared and fired a jet of flame at him, just missing him.

“_Accio_ Firebolt!” he called, his wand pointed up in the air.

After about 10 seconds, he looked up and saw his broom sailing towards him, he crouched, getting ready to jump and catch it, when a jet of flame came in from the side and passed between him and it.

Harry briefly averted his eyes from the bright light, and when it cleared, he looked up, yelping and jumping to the left just in time to doge the mass of burning wood that was, ironically, and much to his dismay, his Firebolt.

A small part of his mind found this height of cruel irony amusing. His beloved Firebolt and become a _fireball._

He righted himself just as the burning mass of wood slammed into the rock he’d been sitting against and shattered with a small crack and puff of flame, smoke and sparks.

His primary strategy had literally just gone up in flames. The dragon had destroyed his broom.

_‘Well, that’s just great. NOW what do I do?!’_ he thought.

_How about run?_ An unknown voice spoke in the back of his head, that sounded oddly like his own.

Deciding not to question it, Harry leapt out from behind the rock and ran, barely avoiding another jet of flame from the black Dragon.

He raised and flicked his wand, attempting to transfigure the next stone he was passing into a pile of stones large enough for him to hide behind.

What he _actually_ got, was a neatly arranged wall segment made of white marble blocks, almost 20 feet high, 9 feet thick, and nearly 50 feet long. Each block one meter high, one meter thick, and two meters long.

_‘Whoa…Where’d THAT come from? I didn’t ask for that! Now I can’t see where she is!’_

_“Wow! A VERY impressive Conjuration by Mister Potter! Only problem is, that wall is so long, that it almost completely cuts him off from getting to the dragon!”_ Ludo’s voice echoed through the air.

Harry cursed, he was right. While there was space between the conjured wall and the wall of the arena, there wasn’t much.

_‘I could try putting a gate in it.’_ he thought, then decided not to, and instead worked his way around the wall.

When the female spotted him again, she once again reared back, getting ready to strike with another jet.

_‘Have to show her I’m not a threat. Need to distract her, maybe some food?’_

From behind the edge of the wall, Harry raised his wand and conjured some rocks and transfigured them into a pile of fish, though he wasn’t sure what species he’d been going for.

A _mountain_ of fish appeared in front of the female, and she paused, then approached the mound, sniffing. Then she started to eat.

_“Amazing! Potter really seems to be on form today! I’m not sure why his conjurations are coming in so large though.” _Ludo commented.

_‘Looks like the book was right…I performed a power boosting ritual the other day in the shower with Hermione, then again, I should have guessed that from practicing in the Room of Requirement…’_ he thought.

Harry wasn’t exactly sure what happened to transfigured objects if they were eaten after being turned into food items, he idly hoped that the dragon didn’t end up with a stomach full of rocks, that would not be pleasant.

_“Looks like Potter’s plane is working! She has no idea she’s there!”_ Ludo said.

Harry wanted to facepalm, or better yet, punch Ludo Bagman in the balls.

Unfortunately, Horntails were not only the most _vicious_ of all Dragon species, they were also _apparently_ the smartest.

Because no sooner had Ludo said those words, the Horntail stopped eating and turned, looking _right_ at him.

Harry rolled his eyes and growled, a growl that was echoed by the dragon.

He turned and stared at the announcer booth, where he could just see Bagman, who was looking down at him. Glaring, Harry raised his right hand in a clenched fist, turned upward, then extended his middle finger.

“_Fuck_ you Ludo! Fuck you very much!” Harry yelled.

The crowd, which had started murmuring when Harry had transfigured the fish went silent as an audible gasp of shock went through them.

Harry smirked as he saw the look on Hermione's face, her hands were over her mouth, her eyes wide with shock and fear, but also laughter. The Twins were sniggering, giving him thumbs up. McGonagall looked shocked, but even from where he stood, Harry could see the slight up-turn of her lips.

Crouch Snr did _not_ look impressed, Moody was grinning, apparently chuckling. Dumbledore was frowning heavily, he clearly did not approve of such language directed against a Ministry Official.

_“I say! Now see here young man!”_ Ludo’s scandalized voice echoed across the arena.

“No thank you! Got something more important to do than waste time with a Brainless Ministry Drone!” Harry called, before turning back to the Horntail.

She’d started walking forwards, crouching low, her yellow eyes following his every move.

_‘Ok, gotta show her I’m not a threat…but how? Wait!’_

Harry stopped, about 20 feet from the dragon now. He raised the hand holding his wand out to the side, watching the dragon’s face closely. Her eyes fixed on his wand, tracking its movement.

_‘Every human she’s seen has carried a wand. And every one she has seen has fired spells at her, some have probably hurt her…’_

Then, Harry did something that, in the back of his mind, he was sure Moody, McGonagall, hell, _everyone_ would yell at him for doing, and Hermione would probably kill him for it, assuming the Dragon didn’t kill him first. What he did next was so reckless, so…_Gryffindor_, that later, Harry would wonder _how_ the Sorting Hat could ever think he’d do well in the Snake Pit.

He dropped his wand.

Another gasp went through the silent audience.

_“He’s dropped his wand! Potter dropped his wand!”_ Ludo’s voice proclaimed.

_‘Thank you Captain Obvious. They’re not blind you idiot!’_ he thought.

The dragon had stopped when it saw his wand fall, and was now looking at him cautiously. There was still aggression in her eyes, but also curiosity as well.

Harry suddenly got the impression that disarming himself wasn’t enough, he not only needed to show he wasn’t armed, he needed to show _submission._ Trust…he needed to show her that he trusted her not to kill him.

Turning until he was sideways on to the Horntail, in such a way that if he looked straight up, he’d look right into Hermione's wide, terror filled eyes, Harry closed his eyes, and bowed slightly, raising his hand, palm outward, and waited.

_“Wha—What in Merlin’s name is he **DOING?!**_” Ludo’s voice rang out.

Harry felt the vibrations through the ground as the Dragon approached, it wasn’t long before he could feel the warm air of her breath blowing over his exposed hand, arm and the side of his face. She was close. If he tried to turn and reach for his wand now, or tried to summon it, she’d likely kill him before it reached his hand.

He also heard the shouts and running feet of people, most likely Charlie and the other Handlers rushing to save him from a gruesome death.

He heard her snort, then sniff, she let out a slight growl, then a faint warble.

“_Haaarrrry!_” he heard Hermione terrified scream, but he didn’t look up, he daren’t, all he could think was:

_‘I’m sorry Hermione. I…I love you.’_

Then he felt something. Something he never would have expected. Or believed.

A warm snout, skin thick with scales and a leathery texture, pressed into his palm, as warm air once again washed over him, ruffling his hair, and sending a shiver down his spine.

-=-=-=-


	9. After the Task

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: TRIGGER WARNING! This chapter contains NC content! I usually don’t write that kind of thing, but I thought it necessary to flesh out Draco's dark side a bit more, and give a more solid reason to justify his ultimate fate.
> 
> I'm SO sorry this took so long! I didn't mean to fall so far behind, but RL just ran away with me and i just got distracted. But I did warn you all that the update frequency would slow down.
> 
> Also, couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine recruited me into a team he put together to help him make an indie game as a script writer. (though i'm kinda struggling, it's a lot harder writing a script, at least for me, than writing a story, oddly enough). I don't know at this point when or even IF it'll be finished, so won't say more than that. So if my next update is slow, you'll have an idea as to why.
> 
> This chapter is in total, 17895 words, the longest (that i'm sure of) story chapter I've ever written. 49.5 pages.

**Chapter 9: After the Task.**

**_First_** **_Task_** **_Arena, Forbidden Forest._**

Harry didn’t move. He didn’t open his eyes. He didn’t _breathe._

He could feel the warm breath of the dragon as she breathed on his arm, his hair ruffling. His body was tense, it was only then he noticed his back was drenched in sweat, his pulse was racing. His eyes snapped open and he released the breath he’d been holding as a sigh.

Somehow, it had worked, whatever he’d done.

He looked up, into the wide silent eyes of the crowd watching him.

_Silence._

The only sound he could hear was the sound of his own breathing, the dragon’s heavy breathes and occasional snorts.

And his heartbeat. Which was pounding in his ears.

Then he looked to his left where his hand pressed against the warm snout of the female Horntail, who took deep steady breathes, her eyes closed.

_‘I’m touching a Dragon…I’m TOUCHING a freaking DRAGON!’_ he thought, he sucked in a gasp as he straightened up, and pulled his hand away from her nose. She opened her eyes and looked at him, snorting again.

“Uhh…hi…” he said awkwardly, licking his dry lips and swallowing nervously, his mind racing.

_‘Ok…ok…think Potter…gotta convince her to let me get at the eggs…somehow…’_

“Ok…well, I don’t know how well you can understand me…but…I need to get to that gold egg…” he said awkwardly.

Her eyes narrowed, a low growl emanating from her throat.

_‘Ok…clearly she understands _something_, maybe the word ‘egg’ ok…different tactic.’_

“Ok…listen lady, I know you don’t want to be here, neither do I. I know you’re probably freaking out about your eggs being here too, being in an unfamiliar environment, and I don’t blame you. I was forced to compete in this damn tournament against my will, and I give my word that I mean no harm to you or your clutch, I just need to retrieve the golden egg, ya know, the shiny fake one.” He said pointing awkwardly at the gold egg in the center of the clutch of black eggs. How she hadn’t immediately identified and discarded it he did not know, maybe her maternal instincts prevented it he reasoned.

He pointed at the gold egg and made a move to step around her and approach the nest, but she growled again, snapping her jaws a little and he froze, raising his hands in what he hoped was a non-threatening gesture.

“Ok! Ok…Not moving!” He said, holding still.

The dragon snorted then turned around and approached her nest, turning her back to him.

Harry stared at her, then looked to the crowd, they were still silent, he looked over to the hospital tent where he saw the others poking their heads out of the tent flap, staring at him slack-jawed. He looked over at the dragon handlers, including Charlie, who were also staring at him as if he were crazy.

_‘Heh, I just might be. Guess you guys never figured this was a way of dealing with Dragons…then again, neither did I.’_ he thought.

He turned back to the dragon as she turned back to face him and started walking towards him, the golden egg clutched in her jaws.

Harry swallowed nervously as she dropped it at his feet then nudged it with her nose.

“Uh…thanks.” He said as he stooped to pick it up, then moved to pick up his wand as the dragon snorted again, then turned away, heading back to her nest. He gave her one last look, before he turned and headed towards the hospital tent.

There was still no-one cheering, or even talking, by the time he reached the tent, and he was pulled in by Cedric. Fleur and Krum were also watching him with confused looks, Madam Pomfrey was treating a rather nasty looking burn on Krum’s arm.

“What the bloody _hell_ Potter?!”

Harry raised an eyebrow. “Well, I was _expecting_ someone to cheer when I got the egg, or at least say _something_.”

Cedric snorted. “They’re probably still in shock! What the hell were you _thinking?!_ That dragon could have taken your arm off!”

“I thought you weren’t allowed to watch.”

“When we heard Bagman say you dropped your wand, we all decided to come take a look.” Cedric replied, Fleur and Krum nodded in agreement.

Harry shrugged, “Well, it’ll be interesting to see the scores though. Though I figure I’m gonna get a lot of grief from Hermione.” Cedric snorted.

Just then, a tall, lanky woman with wire framed glasses and blonde hair that looked like it was dyed, entered the tent.

“Mister Potter! There you are, I was wondering if you would like to spare a few words for the _Prophet_ tomorrow? As the youngest Champion in history…” Rita Skeeter began, pulling out parchment and a green quick-quotes quill.

Harry glared at her and folded his arms.

“No comment.” He said flatly.

Rita blinked, before turning to Cedric, who raised an eyebrow.

“How about you, Mister Buggery?”

Harry had to bite his lip to stop the grin, and the laughter, that were struggling to cross his face as Cedric glared at her with disgust.

“It’s _‘Diggory’_, you talentless _hack_.” Cedric snarled through gritted teeth, fists clenched and shaking.

Rita tried to look nonplussed as she turned to Fleur, her quill scribbling on the parchment.

“And you dear?”

Fleur glared at her and folded her arms, eyes narrowing. _“__Va te faire foutre__.”_

Krum snorted, smirking and chuckling, as did Cedric, though Harry had no idea what she’d just said, he guessed it wasn’t polite. Clearly Rita understood French about as well as he did, because she just grinned and scribbled on the parchment.

“Wonderful!” she then turned to Krum, who was glaring at her, a look of utter _loathing_ on his face. Clearly he’d dealt with reporters like Rita before, and hated them.

“How about you? Mister Kram?”

“It is _Krum, _you foolish woman. And no, no comment.”

Just then, the flap of the tent was thrown open and Hermione stalked in, her expression a mixture of fury, incredulousness, and shock.

_‘And speak of the devil…or would that be banshee?’_ Harry thought, a slight smile crossing his face as he remembered what he’d done to her in the shower the other day.

_“Harry James Potter! What the FUCK were you THINKING?!”_ Hermione snapped, her voice raising into an almost-scream. Her eyes were wide, a multitude of emotions swirling within them as she glared at him, she looked like she wanted to slap him, hug him, and throttle him, and not entirely in that order.

He opened his mouth to say something as Pomfrey came forward to start checking him, since she’d finished healing Krum, Hermione continued regardless. Then she turned and glared at Rita, who was looking between Hermione and Harry like she was on the verge of the scoop of the century. Harry could already see the woman’s mind coming to conclusions that would make life for him and Hermione very difficult.

“You. _Out._” Pomfrey snapped, pointing at the tent flap. Rita huffed.

“Freedom of the Press, I have a right to interview the Champions.”

“We already told you we’re not saying anything.” Cedric snapped, folding his arms.

“Fine then, at least I got a statement from one of you.” Rita said, before ducking out.

Hermione raised an eyebrow, “Who said what?” Fleur chuckled.

“I believe I said, how you say…_Fuck_ _off_.”

Hermione snorted, as did Pomfrey. “I don’t think she understood what Fleur was saying, it’ll be interesting to see what she does with that.” Harry said. Hermione turned and gave him a look.

“_Anyway…_Back to my original point. I mean really Harry? Dropping your wand in front of a god damn nesting _Dragon?!_ Are you insane? Why would you _do_ something so merlin damned _RECKLESS!”_ she snapped, voice raising again.

“Well, he _is_ a Gryffindor, that’s kind of in the job description with you guys.” Cedric said, grinning. That grin faltered when Hermione's icy glare fixed on him instead.

“Zip. It.” she growled.

“Well, good news Mister Potter, you’re perfectly fine.” Pomfrey said, as the tent opened again and Dumbledore and McGonagall came in.

“Are you sure?” Hermione asked, her stern gaze slipping back to Harry. “Because I’m pretty sure he lost his mind out there.”

“Do not worry, I am sure eet will turn up, non?” Fleur said, smiling at them.

“Har har.” Harry said, before his shoulders slumped. “Lost my broom though.” Cedric winced, as did Krum, and hermione’s stern expression softened considerably, as she stepped forward and hugged him.

“I’m sorry Harry.” She said quietly, as Pomfrey paused as she checked Harry again, frowned, then started to scan Hermione. Harry smiled and wrapped his arms around her, burring his face in her neck as he realized how much he’d worried her.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine, once you knock some sense into him. Though I am detecting something odd though…I’m picking up traces of a Lust potion in your system Mister Potter. You as well Miss Granger, I hope you haven’t been trying to experiment with potion brewing again.”

“Wait…_what?!”_ Hermione yelped.

Dumbledore cleared his throat, stepping forward. “Well done, all of you, your scores will be calculated shortly by myself and the other judges, I just wanted to pop in and see how you were all doing.” He smiled, his eyes twinkling.

Hermione frowned as she pulled away from Harry, confusion marring her face. Why would Dumbledore be checking on them _now_? Surely that violated some sort of procedure, but she could barely focus on him at the moment, her mind stalling as she tried to process what the Mediwitch had just told her.

“We’re fine, sir.” Cedric said, giving Hermione and Harry an odd look. Dumbledore nodded, then raised his hand a silently, wandlessly cast several charms on everyone in the tent, freezing them in place, placing all of them under a trance, so none of them would see or remember what he was about to do. He had to understand why his attempts to engender attraction between Mister Krum and Miss Granger had failed, and to hopefully reinforce it. He was aware that the probability of stopping the Bonding process from starting between Harry and Hermione was likely impossible at this point, even if it hadn’t started already. They were living in such close proximity that it was a given certainty now.

Which was unfortunate, but not something that could be handled later. A full Bonding did not always guarantee the two in question would end up being married, after all, and a Wizard could bond with multiple Witches, and a Witch could bond with more than one Wizard, if the two in question chose to.

So…it would seem a little ‘prodding’ was needed.

Meeting first Harry's, then Hermione's eyes, he silently used a Legilimency probe, and entered their minds.

First, he removed the knowledge of what Pomfrey had just revealed to them, then he entered Pomfrey’s mind and did the same. He then reviewed the confrontation with Draco the week before, then how they’d coped with the immediate aftereffects, and then how they’d come to realize how to ‘manage’ their new condition.

When he came to Hermione questioning if they had been dosed with potions, he paused. _‘How had she figured it out?’_ he thought. This girl was clearly too smart and too observant for her own good. Hopefully, if she could be paired off with either young Ronald or Mister Krum, it might help curb that in some way. Maybe Mister Weasley, instead of Mister Krum, as he was well aware of the young redhead’s budding attraction for the girl. He couldn’t tell if she’d just guessed, or genuinely been observant enough to spot it…well, that would not do.

Working quickly, he modified her memories, removing all traces of her suspicion of being dosed, which he hoped, would lead her to assume the elevated levels of arousal she would experience were solely due to the curse, and not with the potions on top of that.

Then he came to her encounter with Krum in the library, and he had to bite his tongue to stop the growl of frustration from coming out. Here she was, in a relatively isolated environment with Mister Krum, and a perfect opportunity for her to start ‘forming a deeper connection’ with him, as it were, and yet, all they’d done was _talk!_ Did Hermione really have _that_ much self-control?

Or maybe it was the ‘activities’ she’d engaged in with Harry that had ‘quelled the fires’ enough, so to speak, so that she’d be able to control herself so much…well…that also would not do. Clearly, he would need to supply the House Elves with something stronger. So far, he’d been using potions he’d gotten from an Apothecary in Knockturn Alley, but they clearly weren’t cutting it. he’d have to talk to Severus.

He then started to alter Hermione's memory of her meeting with Krum, not removing it entirely, just altering it slightly, and adding to it. Once he was finished, he quickly moved to Krum, and repeated the process.

He also added a stronger compulsion charm on the youth, noting that he already harbored feelings of attraction for Miss Granger, so he amplified them, with a little mental work. While Krum had clearly undergone Occlumency training at Durmstrang, he was no master at it, and hopefully, wouldn’t spot the modifications to his mind before it was too late to matter.

He also placed a subtle ‘hint’ in the youth’s mind that he should also pursue Hermione for the upcoming Yule Ball.

When he was satisfied, he pulled out of Krum’s mind then double-checked his alterations to the other two students. When he was sure he was done, he unfroze everyone, and smiled at them.

“Well, congratulations to you all. Now, I need to get to the Judges table for the scoring.” And with that, he ducked out.

“I’ll go wait for you by the stands Harry.” Hermione said, giving him another hug and a quick kiss on the cheek, before glancing at Krum, Cedric, then Fleur, and offering them each a smile, though her gaze lingered on Krum a little longer.

For his part, Harry sighed, as he hefted the metal egg. There was quite a bit of weight to it, and the narrower half seemed to be segmented, as if it opened somehow, though he had no idea how right now, as he couldn’t even get his fingernails between the plates.

Krum meanwhile, watched Hermione leave, and smiled as his mind drifted back to their meeting in the library, and he felt himself blush with embarrassment as he remembered their meeting, the brief conversation they’d had, though he couldn’t really remember what it was about, before she’d said she needed his help with something in the Restricted Section, where she’d promptly dragged him by his tie, and once they were out of the view of prying eyes, she’d rather determinedly dropped to her knees in front of him, and proceeded to give him a very enthusiastic blowjob, and once she was done, she’d promised a repeat performance at a later date right there in the library, all he’d have to do would be to meet her there in the future, which he’d readily agreed to.

“Ok, let’s go see how we all did, shall we?” Harry asked, the others nodded and left the tent, soon finding themselves standing before the judges table.

The judges were all conferring among themselves, before they took note of the four champions standing before them. Dumbledore placed his wand to his throat and then his voice echoed over the arena.

“The scoring will now begin, in order the Champions participated in. First, Cedric Diggory.”

He then raised his wand, and a glowing 10, Bagman also raised a 10, Maxime raised a 9, Karkaroff, after a moment, raised an 8, which earned him some boos from the assembled Hufflepuffs. Crouch, after a bit longer of a pause, raised his wand and a glowing 8 appeared.

“Cedric Diggory is awarded 45 points.” Dumbledore said, the crowd cheered.

“Next, Fleur Delacour.” Dumbledore raised a 10, as did Maxime, Karkaroff raised a 5, which earned him a slew of French profanity and sneers from the Beauxbatons students, along with some very inappropriate gestures from some of them.

_‘Arsehole.’_ Harry thought, bristling. Fleur also scowled, and Cedric and Viktor didn’t look too impressed either. Neither did Olympe, who looked positively _furious_ as she glared daggers at Karkaroff.

Bagman gave her a 10, shooting Fleur a look and a smile which Harry thought was a little creepy but honestly, just made him look ridiculous. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Fleur rolled her eyes and mutter something in French.

Finally, there was Crouch, who, after a hefty sigh, almost as if he was bored with the whole affair, awarded her an 8. This got him some jeering, but not as much as Igor had got.

“Fleur Delacour is awarded…43 points.”

The crowd cheered again.

“Next, Viktor Krum.” Dumbledore, with a slightly regretful look raised a 6, Olympe gave him a 5, Ludo raised a 7, shooting Krum an apologetic look. Karkaroff, who was glaring at his fellow judges now, raised a 10, which earned him another backlash from the students. Even Krum snorted, not looking impressed by his Headmaster’s blatant favoritism.

_‘Well…_that’s_ not biased at all…’_ Cedric thought, rolling his eyes. “Why so low with the others?” he whispered to Krum, the youth had the sense to look embarrassed.

“I…uhm…may have…how you say…’goofed’.”

“What did you do?” Harry asked, keeping his voice down as low as he could.

“I blinded my dragon with _Conjunctivitis_ _Curse_. She panicked, destroy half her own eggs. And set my arm on fire.”

Harry and the others _winced_.

Finally, it was Crouch’s turn, who, after giving Igor a look, raised an 8.

The reaction from the crowd was mixed, the Durmstrang contingent cheered, as did the Slytherins, the other three Hogwarts houses were a bit less enthused, and the Beauxbatons students were silent, making their opinions _clear._

“Viktor Krum is awarded…36 points.”

This earned boos from the Durmstrang and Slytherin students, some of whom tried to cry foul, but their attempts failed.

_‘Ok…time to see what that stunt cost you Potter.’_ Harry thought.

“And finally, Harry Potter.” Dumbledore raised a 10, Maxime also raised a 10, Bagman raised a 9, Karkaroff scowled and raised a 10, though the look on his face as he glared at Harry gave the boy the impression the foreign Headmaster wanted to do nothing more than knock a digit off that number, though which digit, Harry wasn’t sure. Crouch, after some time, and with a look of reluctance, raised his wand and awarded him a 9.

“Harry Potter is awarded…48 points.”

The crowd cheered and applauded, or rather, _most_ of them did. Some of the Hufflepuffs didn’t, most of the Slytherins didn’t, none of the Durmstrang students did, and only two or three Gryffindors didn’t.

Harry easily made out Hermione and Professor McGonagall among the Gryffindors, both of whom looked very proud of him, Susan, Luna and even Daphne were also clapping, though the latter was not cheering, as she was surrounded by Slytherins where definitely not doing either, some were even glaring at her, particularly Malfoy and his ilk. Snape was clapping, though the look on his greasy face indicated he wanted to do anything _but._

He briefly locked eyes with Charlie Weasley, and the Dragon Tamer gave him a thumbs up mouthed the words ‘We talk later, yes?’ Harry smiled and nodded, giving him a thumbs up in return. He could already guess what Charlie wanted to talk about; he’d want to know what exactly he did with the dragon, and how he avoided losing an arm.

Once the cheering had calmed down, Dumbledore canceled the charm on his voice as he spoke.

“Now, to discuss the Golden Eggs each of you have. They each contain a clue to discovering the objective of the Second Task, which will be held on the 24th of February next year, so that should give you plenty of time to figure it out. Well done, all of you.”

The crowd cheered again.

-=-=-=-

As classes were canceled for the rest of the day, the students were free to either return to their common rooms or just wander around the school.

The moment Harry entered the Gryffindor Common room, Gold Egg safely tucked under one arm, he was bombarded with cheers and shouts from the rest of his house, though he noted a few, like Ron and McLagan weren’t, though they weren’t glaring at him.

_‘Well…this is different.’_ Harry thought, as he cradled the Golden Egg under his right arm, not quite sure how to react to the spectacle of his entire house cheering him, when 24 hours earlier, they still believed he cheated.

“How’d you do it Harry?” Neville asked, as he stepped forward to give his friend a hug.

“I think the more pressing question is, _‘How_ _did_ _you_ _survive?_’” Lavender asked.

“No.” came Hermione's stern voice behind Harry, and he felt a slight shiver of foreboding creep down his spine at her tone. He didn’t need to turn round to see the twin brown orbs drilling holes in the back of his head.

_‘Oh boy, she’s pissed.’_ He thought.

“The _pressing_ question is: _What the BLOODY HELL were you THINKING Harry James Potter?!”_

Hermione's voice echoed through the common room as what started as a growl turned into an ear aching yell by the end of it, causing many of the students to flinch and shy away from them.

“Merlin…I think, dear brother, she’s channeling Mum!” George whimpered in fear. Fred grinned.

“Ooooh! Someone’s sleeping on the sofa tonight!” Fred sang, several of the other boys snickered. The girls just rolled their eyes.

“Looks like someone isn’t getting any tonight!” Seamus cackled. Harry rolled his eyes as he turned to face Hermione.

_‘If I didn’t _have_ to, Finnigan, you’d probably be right.’_ He thought, as he took in his lover’s expression, her eyes were stern, but he could see the fear in there as well, the unshed tears, and like a blunger to the head, he suddenly realized that if his little gamble in the Forest with the Horntail had failed, it would have also affected Hermione greatly, if not immediately, the certainly in the long run.

“No change there then, huh Seamus?” Ginny spoke up, snickering at her own joke.

“Screw you Weasley.” Seamus said.

“No thanks, you’re not my type.” Ginny replied. The common room dissolved into fits of laughter, though Harry and Hermione were the only ones who weren’t.

“Well, I’m waiting Harry.” Hermione said sternly over the laughter, her arms crossed. He gulped.

“Uh…ok…uhm…look, I’m really sorry Hermione. I _had_ planned to use my Firebolt to jump into the air, dive past her and grab the egg, but…that wasn’t an option, apparently.”

Hermione's eyes softened slightly as a look Harry couldn’t place spread across her face, and she uncrossed her arms.

“I’m sorry Harry, I know that broom meant a lot to you.”

Harry nodded, sighing, “Yeah, better the broom than me though, right?” he asked, laughing a little nervously, despite herself and her anger tempering anger, Hermione smiled.

“Yes, better the broom get roasted than you.”

“So……as to what I was thinking, well, I just figured I’d try and prove to her I wasn’t a threat to her or her eggs, and I figured she’d seen a lot of humans, holding wands that shoot light at her, and sometimes that light would hurt, so, I thought to myself; _‘What if I’m not holding a wand, and don’t have one in easy reach? That should prove I’m not a threat.’_ So…yeah.”

“And if it hadn’t worked? If she’d decided that you were just not worth the risk, or she got close enough to touch you but then decided she wanted a snack?” Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Then…it wouldn’t have worked, I guess there’s no arguing around that point.” Harry said with a shrug.

The rest of the common room had gone silent, as everyone watched, though Ron was still scowling.

“Just kiss and make up already!” Alicia Spinet said from the crowd. Harry shot a quick glare over his shoulder, before he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Hermione, who let out a sigh as she returned the hug.

“Weren’t you going to tell us why you guys got your own quarters? I’m betting the other Champions don’t.” Katie Bell asked.

“Er…well, we do want to tell you guys, it’s just a very…awkward situation, and we don’t really want it getting around.” Hermione said.

“You can trust us.” Lavender said.

Hermione raised an eyebrow. “The two biggest gossip mongers in the school?”

Parvati rolled her eyes. “Give us _some_ credit Granger, we do know when to put a lid on things, you know.”

“Just not very often, it would seem.” Neville said.

The two girls glared at him.

“We’ll tell you tonight, after Dinner.” Hermione said. “After I’ve had a chance to calm my nerves.”

“So what, you dropped your wand, held out your hand, closed your eyes and hoped she wouldn’t take your arm off?” Cormac said.

“Pretty much.”

“That’s pretty damn reckless.” Ginny said, folding her arms.

Harry shrugged, a cheeky smile appearing on his face. “We’re Gryffindors, it’s an occupational hazard. And according to Cedric, it’s in the Job Description.”

That earned him a few snickers. That smile faded when he looked back at Hermione and saw the look in her eyes, and how really scared she must have felt for him.

_‘Nice going Potter, now you upset her.’_ He thought. He then turned back to the others.

“Hey guys? You mind if Hermione and I take this somewhere else?” and before he got a response, he took her hand and pulled her towards the entrance to their private quarters. Though he couldn’t miss the few whisles and catcalls being sent their way. Muttering the password, he stepped through, pulling Hermione with him. Once they were in their common room, he turned to face her.

“Hermione, look, I’m really sor—” his apology was cut off as she stepped forward and threw her arms around his neck and hugged him, burying her face in his neck. Startled, he stood there for a few seconds, before his arms came up around her.

“Stupid…stupid…stupid…” she said, her words muffled by his neck as a few silent sobs wracked her body. “Don’t you…dare do anything…like that again…”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.” he said, burying his face in her neck, taking a deep breath of her hair. _‘I’ll try not to.’_ He thought.

“We…we need to talk.” She said, pulling her face away and stepping back, looking him in the eye, and he felt his heart tighten at the emotion he could clearly see there.

Harry gulped.

When a girl said that, it was _never_ good.

-=-=-=-

When Daphne Greengrass entered the Slytherin Common room, she instantly noticed something was wrong.

She instantly went on alert as she noticed the common room was empty, save for Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Bulstrode and Parkinson. All of them were sneering or scowling at her, glaring openly.

Daphne felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise, as a shiver went through her, and she slowly started to move her hand towards her wand.

“Don’t try it Greengrass.” Malfoy growled, as he drew his own wand, and with a gesture, Pansy and Millicent moved to either side of her and took an arm.

“What’s this about Draco?” Daphne growled.

“You were cheering Potter after he cheated his way out of getting eaten.” Draco snapped, his eyes alight with fury.

“I have no idea how he did it, and to be honest, I don’t really care, as there’s nothing I can do about it. As a Triwizard Champion, he can’t be touched, legally. So whatever dark magic he used on the Dragon, can’t be looked into yet.”

Daphne snorted, rolling her eyes and she tried to suppress the panic starting to build.

“In case you hadn’t noticed, Malfoy, he _dropped his wand_, so there was _no way_ he could have be-spelled the Dragon.”

“What about the fish he conjured? He could have done something to that.” Parkinson said to her right. “A calming spell or something.”

Daphne hated to admit it, but the blonde had a point, but that wasn’t important at the moment.

“So you want to have a go at me just for clapping after he grabbed the egg? I wasn’t the only one in Slytherin doing that you know.” She retorted.

“Yes.” Draco drawled, huffing. “We know, but most of them were the First Years, they’ll be set straight soon enough. _You_ on the other hand, should know _better!_ We know you’ve been spending time with the Mudblood Granger and the Huffleslut Bones. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, until yesterday, when something occurred to me and I went looking through my trunk. Guess what I _didn’t_ find.”

Daphne did her best to remain calm, despite the panic that was rapidly overtaking her.

“Where. Is. The. Book.” Draco growled, his gaze as cold as ice.

“What book?”

“_THE_ Book!” Draco snarled, stepping closer, putting the tip of his wand to her chin. “The one that I got that spell from, the one I used on Granger and Potter, although Granger was my only intended target, Potter did me a favor by using himself as a shield, which worked out great in my view, after a day or two, they’d _both_ be dead. But _nnnooooo_…_Someone_ helped them figure out what the curse was and how to deal with it, and now they’re back on their feet!” he glared at her, then he nodded to Crabbe and Goyle, who used their wands to conjure large table, and the two other girls started to drag her backwards towards it, and she started to struggle.

“And the _ONLY_ one who could be that someone, is _you._ Parkinson and Bulstrode have already searched your Trunk and come up empty, and I doubt you’d give something like that to your sister, so that just leaves you.” Draco growled again.

“I don’t have it.” Daphne said.

“Then _where_ is it.” he growled again, coming to a stop by her head as he leaned over her now prone form, the two other girls holding her arms, and the two lumbering boys holding her legs. She felt terrified, powerless, but was doing her best to hide it, but they could all see the fear and panic in her eyes.

“I don’t know!” she lied, as she continued to struggle.

“Well then, looks like you’re going to have to make up for your transgression against your House.” He sneered, as he reach down and roughly fumbled with the buttons on her blouse, before pulling it open, exposing the black bra she wore, before reaching down and roughly pulling it away from her breasts.

Daphne gasped in shock, her body going stiff as Draco manhandled her, when he’d exposed her breasts she started to struggle again, harder this time, but they only held her down more. He started to roughly squeeze and grope them, painfully pinching and twisting her nipples, her eyes filled with tears of fear, pain and anger as she looked up at the heavy-set Bulstrode and the pugish Parkinson for help, silently pleading with her eyes, only to be met by the cold, hostile glares of both girls.

She also felt tow hands between her legs, pushing her skirt up until it was around her waist, groping, squeezing and painfully prodding the smooth warm flesh of her thighs and her crotch. She bit down on her lip to stop the whimper that wanted to leap out of her throat, she briefly considered yelling for help, though she figured they’d already placed silencing charms around the room.

She tried, and failed, to suppress a shiver of revulsion as her knickers were forcefully pulled down her legs, though due to how her legs were being restrained, they didn’t get any further than her knees. She shuddered as she felt those same grubby fingers start to prod and grope her vulva, roughly passing through and pulling on the short patch of blonde hair just above her vagina.

_‘You’re ALL DEAD! I’ll kill all five of you!’_ she mentally raged, as she lifted her head and _glared_ down at the two boys who were grinning and leering over her, noticing that it was Goyle who was currently feeling her up, while Crabbe held her legs open.

“Take your stinking paws off me you damn dirty _APE!”_ she snarled, her face contorting in murderous fury, wincing as she felt Goyle’s fingers start to probe. _‘When was the last time he _washed_ those hands?’_ she thought.

“Mind your manners, Greengrass, it’s time you put that mouth of yours to better use.” His own hand moved to the front of his trousers as Daphne glared up at him, her own blue eyes filled with cold fury.

“If that _tiny_ thing you call a penis comes anywhere _near_ my mouth Draco, **_You. Will. LOSE. IT!_**” she snarled.

Draco just smirked as he pulled out his erection and started to stroke it. Try as she might, she couldn’t turn her head away, not when Millicent grabbed her head to stop her doing so. Then the smell hit her, and she almost gagged, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

_‘Seriously? Doesn’t this bastard use cleaning charms on himself after he’s done fucking Parkinson? Or doing _anything _else with it?’_ she thought in disgust as Draco moved closer, bringing his erection, which in her personal opinion, was _far_ from anything worth bragging about, to less than an inch from her lips.

“Open up.” He snapped.

“Fuck you!”

“Hmm…another day perhaps, but today, I fancy a blowjob, let’s see if you’re as good as last time.” Draco smirked.

_‘Wait…Wha—’_

“Aahh_MMMPH!_” her thought processes were cut off as Parkinson roughly grabbed her right nipple and twisted it, causing Daphne to stiffen and yelp in pain, though she didn’t get much time to do that, because as soon as her mouth opened, it was filled with Draco's rather unimpressive shaft.

Then she _did_ gag, and did her best not to choke on both the revolting taste and smell, but also on the bile that was trying to force it’s way up her throat.

The tears in her eyes, which had built up over the fear and rough treatment she’d endured so far, finally fell as a sense of helplessness and utter _revulsion_ swept through her. Once she got out of this, she was going to go straight to Professor Snape, and if he wouldn’t help her, then McGonagall, then she’d tell them everything, and either get these four kicked out of Hogwarts, or get herself resorted into a different house, or get private Quarters for herself and Astoria.

She hadn’t had the chance to talk to Hermione or Harry over the last couple of days, as everyone, particularly them, had been busy preparing for the First Task, though she had been able to get together with Susan. Ohhh…just wait until _she_ heard about this. She knew her friend would go _running_ to her Aunt, and there would be nothing Dumbledore could do, as he’d apparently done nothing over Draco cursing Harry and Hermione.

She started to wonder what it was like for Hermione, being forced to suck Harry off several times a day, and for a brief moment, she wished it was Harry she was sucking, even if she wasn’t actually _sucking_ the penis in her mouth at that moment. And she’d actually do it too, as she highly doubted Harry would be as rough or violent as Draco, and if what she knew of his upbringing through Hermione was accurate, he’d be very shy about it, and for a few seconds, she pictured herself pinning a blushing and highly embarrassed Boy-Who-Lived against a wall as she slowly and gently sucked his clean, well-hygienically-maintained dick.

As she pictured the scene in her mind, blocking out what was actually happening to her, she wondered how Hermione was coping, and just how proficient she’d gotten, though she doubted her brunette friend could have become a blowjob expert in five days, considering she was a novice that past Sunday in the Hospital Wing, she didn’t doubt her friend had learned a thing or two. And she hoped Harry had too, though if what she’d heard through the rumor mill over the past couple of days, it would seem he had, and very quickly too, judging by the apparent Banshee-like screams the Gryffindors had supposedly heard Tuesday morning.

She hoped she’d get to experience that at some point. She had been serious, she told herself, when she’d made the offer to let Harry ‘feed’ from her if he ever needed to, and Hermione's ‘time’ was apparently coming up, so, she reasoned, she’d find out just _how_ good Potter was at eating pussy pretty soon.

She just had to get out of here first.

“Well, would you look at that? She’s smiling! And moaning too, looks like she’s enjoying you Draco! I guess the self-proclaimed Ice Queen of the snake pit is a cock whore after all.” Pansy sneered.

Daphne's face screwed up as she realized, to her horror, that Parkinson was right. She _had_ been smiling around Draco's dick, and she _had_ moaned as well, she’d also started to actively start _sucking_, but she quickly made the smile vanish, and stopped everything her wandering imagination had made her start doing.

“I guess so…” Draco panted, grunting.

_‘Joke’s on you, Ferret, I was thinking about Potter!’_ Daphne's mind snarled. She wasn’t sure how long this had been going on, and she was starting to wonder why no-one else had come in to stop this.

She grunted in pain as one of the hands between her legs pushed against her clitoris a little too roughly, making her jolt, followed by a probing finger going a little too deep and pressing against her hymen, which made her stiffen and yelp again, which also made her graze his shaft with her teeth.

Draco hissed in pain as he stopped thrusting, turning to glare at the two.

“Watch it! Hurt her too much and she might bite my dick off!”

“Sorry.” Came the mumbled reply from one of them.

Just then, Daphne heard a voice that sent her spirit soring, at first.

“Draco, I need to talk to…oh.”

It was Snape.

_‘He’ll get me out of this…he HAS to!’_ she thought.

But her Head of House’s next words made her blood chill.

“Come and find me when you’re done.”

“Yes sir.” Draco panted. Then she heard a door close and knew Snape had left.

_‘He…he didn’t do anything…Why?’_ she asked, as a tear appeared at the corner of her right eye at the sudden fact of Snape’s betrayal.

Draco started up again, after a few more thrusts, he stiffened, arched his back and leaned his head back and grunted, thrusting his hips forward until her nose was pressed into his pubic mound.

She tried to recoil, but Draco had a hand on the back of her head, so when her mouth was suddenly filled with the thick, bitter, salty and quite frankly _vile_ tasting discharge, she had no choice _but_ to swallow it, or choke.

When he was done, Draco pulled away, his saliva-soaked penis falling from Daphne's mouth as she started to gag and cough. Her gaging managed to bring some of the discharge she hadn’t quite swallowed yet back up into the front of her mouth, she then turned, her glaring, _blazing_ eyes fixed on Parkinson’s face, and she snapped her head up, and _spat._

Pansy staggered back, her hands letting go of Daphne's arm and instead going to her face to wipe off the offending mixture of semen, saliva and small amount of bile now covering her face as Daphne's right hand became a fist, then swung up and across, as she felt a surge of adrenalin course through her body, focusing her rage, she drove her fist with all her strength right into Bulstrode’s groin.

“_UGH!_” Millicent howled, her own hands flying to her crotch as she doubled over, pain unlike anything she’d felt before flooding her body, she dropped to her knees, eyes screwed shut as tears of agony started to fall, she didn’t see Daphne sit up and grab the two startled boys by their throats, snarling with feral rage as she then slammed their heads together before shoving them back, out cold.

“_Bitch!_” Pansy snarled, stepping forward and raising her wand as Daphne stood and pulled up her knickers, letting her skirt fall back into place as she looked up, her ice-cold glare fixing on the other blonde.

_“Whore.”_ Daphne snarled, swinging her fist back then throwing it forward, punching Pansy in the face with enough force to knock her back, sending her staggering. She then quickly covered her breasts with her bra and flicked her wand, her blouse re-buttoning itself. She then turned and leveled her wand at Draco.

“You. Will. _Die_.” She growled, menacingly. Draco snorted.

“You won’t do anything to me, if you did, as soon as my father—” Daphne cut him off, her face turning into a sneer.

“Your father? That’s all you _ever_ say Draco. You honestly think I give a rat’s _ARSE _what your _Precious Daddy_ would say? You’re pathetic! Just like him!”

Draco's smug smirk disappeared, he scowled, things weren’t going as well as he’d hoped they would, especially after he’d figured out she’d helped Potter and Granger survive something that should have by all rights, killed them. That made her a blood traitor.

“I’ll ask again Greengrass. Where is that book?” she glared at him defiantly.

“McGonagall has it. Good luck getting it back!” he scowled, that was…unfortunate, but only a minor nuisance.

“Any last words _Ferret?”_ she snarled, her cold eyes promising death. Her emphasis on the insult made him grit his teeth. Oh how he wished he could make the old ex-Auror _pay_ for that indignity! He also wasn’t pleased that his plans for Daphne had backfired somewhat, while he’d enjoyed himself, she wasn’t as good as Pansy, and he’d really hoped she’d remember her place in the pecking order after this. But he couldn’t risk her running to Dumbledore or worse, that slut Bones.

Daphne was a Pure-Blood, and _technically,_ what he’d been doing was grounds for a Blood Feud between house Greengrass and Malfoy, something his father would _not_ be happy about. And while the Malfoys enjoyed a lot of prestige and influence in the Ministry, the Greengrass family held almost as much, even though they were a _Neutral_ house, and they were far older, and if the whispered rumors about her family’s doings during the war with Grindelwald were true…he shuddered. If it ever did come to a Feud, it would not be pretty.

Still, Greengrass had to learn that siding with the enemies of all decent and Noble Pure-Bloods, and going against those who championed them, those who stood to protect them from the corrosive influence of the Mudbloods, had its price. And she would learn it, just apparently not today.

“Just one.” He said, palming his own wand and quickly raising it to her forehead.

_“Obliviate!”_

-=-=-=-

“Uhm…ok.” Harry said nervously. Hermione moved to one of the sofas then patted it, gesturing for him to sit down, which he did, after placing the egg on the small table at the center of the room.

“Harry…You and I have been friends for years, you saved my life back in First Year, I’m pretty sure I might owe you a Life Debt over that, actually, I’m not sure though. In Second year you separated Bulstrode and me when we got into that fight in the Dueling Club, and then when I drank that Polyjuice, you were the only one who didn’t laugh, and you came to see me more than Ron did. Then when I was petrified, you came to see me regularly, you even read to me.” She paused, smiling, her brown eyes full of genuine affection at the memory.

“Wait, how do you know…” he started to ask.

“Pomfrey.”

“Oh.”

Harry thought back to that year, those had been some of the most difficult six months of his life, and he’d made sure to visit Hermione every chance he got.

_‘Hang on a sec, why did we have to spend all that time growing Mandrakes here when Professor Sprout, Pomfrey or Dumbledore could have just gone to St. Mungo’s got some of the potion from there? They’re bound to have some.’_ He thought.

“That raises a point actually, why didn’t Dumbledore or Pomfrey go to St. Mungo’s to get some potion? Why did we have to make it here?” he asked.

“The potion has a short shelf-life, and Petrification like the ones we had here is rare, as most of the time, if something can petrify you, it can also kill you, and usually does, at which point, the potion would be useless.” Hermione replied.

“Oh, uh, ok then.” That made sense, he thought.

“Then there was last year…” Hermione said, a little awkwardly. Harry scratched the back of his head, feeling embarrassed and guilty at the memory.

“Yeah, sorry about that, you did have a point, we didn’t know at the time that Firebolt came from Sirius, you were right to have it checked out.” Harry said, feeling a sense of loss from destruction of the present his only remaining family had got him. He didn’t count the Dursleys as family, despite what Dumbledore said. Padfoot was going to be heartbroken. Hermione nodded.

“It’s ok, it gave me time to let my hair down a bit, get some breathing room away from Ron, and I got to make some knew friends too, so that’s a plus, friends, who I might add, are willing to now also help you deal with your…_condition_, when I can’t.” she said, smiling sheepishly.

Harry raised an eyebrow, he’d forgotten about that, in all the mayhem of the day.

“Uhm…not sure how I feel about that, I mean, ok, you helped me get over some of the hang-ups _they_ left me, but still, I can’t just go up to these girls and ask them to lift their skirts, can I?”

“Well, ideally, no, probably the best way for that to work is for them to make the offer first, I’ll have to mention it, that should avoid any awkwardness, and the less people who know about this condition we have, the easier it will be for us to deal with it.” Hermione said. Harry nodded.

“You also helped me rescue Sirius, I’d have lost him if it weren’t for you.” Harry said, taking her hand in his. She smiled and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“And now we’re helping each other with this…situation. Granted, it’s not how I’d pictured starting a relationship, of any kind, with someone, but, I think we can manage, the most important thing for us to remember is, a relationship built on purely sex and dependency is _NOT_ how it should be done. I know we trust each other; I know we care about each other, and I know that we can get along well together, and not have quite moments between us seem really awkward.” She paused, and Harry took the time to process what she was saying, and his mind went back to their conversation other day.

“And…what you did for me on Tuesday, well, like I said, a girl could _really_ get used to that kind of treatment every now and then.” Hermione said, smiling and blushing.

Harry smiled, also blushing, as he felt his blood-flow shift south.

“Is this your way of asking me to be your boyfriend Hermione?”

“Yes. Yes it is. That stunt you pulled with the Horntail really scared me, I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.” Before he could respond, she leaned forward and gently kissed him.

Harry stiffened as her lips met his, not sure how to react, which he found odd. He’d been more intimate with Hermione in the last five days than he’d been with anyone else, ever, and this was the first time they’d properly kissed, and he was seizing up?

_‘Get a grip Potter! You’ve done a _hell_ of a lot more than kiss her over the past week, and you freak out at this? Kiss her back already!’_ his inner voice yelled.

He reached up, cradling her face in his hand as he kissed her again, tilting his head slightly so they didn’t bump noses as they stared into each other’s eyes. The raw emotion he saw there made his heart flutter, then they broke the kiss, but didn’t draw very far apart, then he leaned in and kissed her again, closing his own eyes as he parted his lips slightly, and let his tongue tease hers. He felt her moan as she parted them, and his tongue slowly entered her mouth and met hers.

He leaned back into the sofa, pulling her with him as his arms went around her, and they deepened the kiss, enjoying the moment. When they finally broke for air, and looked into each other’s eyes, Harry tried to give voice to what he had thought in the Arena.

“Hermione…” he whispered, his voice hoarse with emotion.

“Yes?” she replied, just as hoarsely.

“I’m really sorry for scaring you, I know I should have told you what I was planning, but my plan went up in flames, literally.”

“No plan survives first contact with the enemy.” Hermione said with a smile.

“Who said that?”

“Nineteenth Century Prussian General, well, it’s not _exactly_ what he said, but that’s the basic gist of it.”

He nodded, swallowed nervously then continued.

“Well, thing I’m trying to say is, you’re important to me, and I don’t want anything to ever happen to you. You stuck by me through _everything_ the past 3 years, especially _this_ year, when everyone, including Ron, who is supposed to be my best friend, shut me out. That’s why I stepped between you and Malfoy a week ago, and if given the chance or choice, I’d do it again, in a heartbeat.”

He saw the emotion in her eyes, the slight glistening of unshed tears.

“Harry…”

“I love you Hermione. I have for years, I just didn’t know how to tell you, I finally admitted it to myself today just before that Dragon pressed her nose against my hand.” He admitted, finally. He watched Hermione's face carefully, saw the raw emotion filling her eyes; love, happiness, lust, fear, uncertainty and pride. She blinked a couple of times, and the tears started to fall. He reached up and stroked one away with a thumb. She closed her eyes and let out a whimper as she tilted her head, pressing her face into his hand, closing her eyes, then she opened them again and looked at him.

“I love you too Harry, I have, I think, since the Dementors last year, I was just too young to understand or act on it, but now…I’m not…” she said, her voice getting deeper and huskier as she finished speaking.

“I think, Mister Potter, you deserve a reward for coming in first place…lay back.”

He did so, as she scooted a bit further along the sofa, giving him more room, she then reached forward and gently ran her fingers along the semi-hard bulge in the front of his pants, their eyes met, and she gave him a sultry smile.

“Well, these have to come off.” And with that, she made a show of unzipping and unbuttoning him, then she started to pull.

“W-wait! What if some-one comes in?” he asked as she pulled his trousers down to his knees, along with his shorts.

“The only ones who know the password are Neville, McGonagall, and I’m assuming Pomfrey, and I set a doorbell charm.” Hermione replied as she gently took hold of her new boyfriend’s shaft and started to gently caress it. after nearly a week of doing this, she’d already learned quite quickly, what he liked best. _‘Time for a little something new I think.’_ She thought, quickly leaning over, she planted a chaste kiss to the exposed tip of his shaft, making it twitch in her hand, then she sat up, and fixed her eyes on him as she loosened her tie, then started to unbutton her blouse, flashing him what she hoped was a sexy, sultry smile as she pulled her blouse open, exposing her bra as she let the garment slip down her arms, then with a flick of her want, she removed her bra, leaving her firm breasts exposed.

She then locked her gaze with his, licking her lips slowly as she began to pant, and she began to gently knead them.

Harry moaned, staring at her as she started to massage her breasts. Was he exhausted from his time dealing with the dragon? Yes. Was watching his best friend, and just-acquired girlfriend stroke and knead her own breasts while she stared at him and licked her lips as if she were starving hot as hell? Yes, it was.

“H-Hermione…” he grunted, as she took him in hand again, rolling back rolling back his foreskin, she leaned forward and licked his glans, all the while keeping eye contact, then raised herself up a little, before she pressed it against her right nipple. After a few moments of massaging the mound with his shaft, she moved to the left breast, all the while maintaining eye contact.

“Wow…” he breathed.

“Hmm…like that?” she purred. As she made a show of gently squeezing his glans, opening the little slit at the end with her left hand, while she used her right to press her now hardened left nipple into it.

He stiffened and tried the claw at the sofa cushion under him at the unexpected sensation. He nodded, not trusting his suddenly dry throat.

She then leaned forward and cupped both mounds, lifting them.

“Well…how about…this?”

She arched her back until his shaft lay against the warm, smooth skin, then she brought them together, embracing his shaft in warm soft flesh.

Then she lowered her head, and Harry let out another moan as he felt her tongue caress his crown. Then she looked back up at him, her eyes dark with lust, as she began to raise then lower her breasts.

“Mmm…how’s this feel Harry? My boobs feel nice?” she asked huskily.

“Y—Yes…” he breathed, staring at her, not even daring to blink.

“Good.”

Hermione hummed as she quickly set into a rhythm, occasionally lowering her head to eagerly lick his crown when it was close enough. She was pleased that she was managing to do this for him, she knew she wasn’t as impressive as Susan or the other girls in her dorm, but she was determined to do this for him.

As she worked, taking his crown into her mouth to gently suck on it, she started to think about what the book had said about Bonding, that there was a conscious decision made by the Witch when exactly to start it, and what would follow, given what the Curse apparently did to the Bonding. If they started it now, her breasts would be full within a few weeks.

_‘Would Harry really want to drink my milk? Would that solve the issue of him needing to feed from my vagina? There HAS to be a cure, we just haven’t looked in the right place yet.’_

A grunt drew her attention, and she looked up as she worked her breasts around him. Harry had his head leaning back, eyes closed, lightly panting as he started to lightly thrust his hips. He then opened his eyes and looked down as he felt Hermione take his hands in hers then raise them to her warm mounds.

“Touch them Harry, play with my breasts…show me how much you like them, show me what feels good to you.” She purred.

“They’re really nice…” he said, half dazed, as he gently cupped the warm flesh, gently squeezing them around his shaft, he then noticed Hermione reaching back with a hand, though he couldn’t see exactly what she was doing with it, her slight moan of pleasure, followed by her eyes closing and a faint wet squelching sound told him enough.

“You know, I’d be more than happy to help out with that.” He said, a little breathlessly.

“Mmm…later perhaps, right now, let me focus on you. Boyfriend.” She said, grinning and opening one eye to wink at him, before moaning again as he gently pinched her nipples.

And with that, she gave his shaft one last squeeze with her breasts before she moved back a little, then lowered her head.

Harry closed his eyes and let his head fall back with a moan as he felt his climax building, he felts his balls tighten, his shaft swell…

“Excuse me.” Came a deep baritone voice from somewhere off to the side.

_‘What the?!’_

Harry's eyes shot open as he sat bolt upright, or as much as he could with Hermione leaning over him, though she wasn’t for long. Upon hearing the voice, Hermione sat up so fast that he was surprised she didn’t give herself whiplash, her head turning this way and that, trying to find the source of the voice, her eyes wide with horror, her mouth still open with a trail of saliva running down her chin.

“Sorry to interrupt.” Came that same voice “But Professor McGonagall is here, I think she wishes to speak with you.”

“Who’s there?!” Hermione said, her voice a high-pitched squeak, her face losing all color.

“It’s me, Mufasa.” The voice said, a voice that reminded Hermione of Darth Vader for some reason, he sounded an awful lot like James Earl Jones.

“Wait…the Lion painting? You can talk?!” Harry said, as he reluctantly started trying to stash the erection that was still slick with his new girlfriend’s saliva.

“Yes. How else are you going to know who wants to come in?”

The two of them looked to the side, at the large painting that hung on the wall, over the fireplace. Not as large as the one that hung over the doorway, but big enough. It was an identical painting, though seemed to be from a closer perspective, though the lion seemed to be making a conscious effort to not look at them.

“Have you been spying on us?” Hermione asked, scandalized as she hurriedly tried to pull on her blouse and button it up.

“No. You two aren’t the first couple staying here to get…_comfortable_ in the common room. Unlike some of the portraits here, and even one or two ghosts I could name, I don’t really like to watch humans mate. It would set a bad example for my son, Simba.”

The two of them looked at each other, and just then, Mufasa turned and walked into the shadow of his painting.

-=-=-=-

Minerva McGonagall paused as she approached the portrait guarding the entrance to Gryffindor Tower, her mind in a whirl.

_‘Only Harry.’_ She thought. She honestly didn’t know whether to dock him 500 points, award him 500 points, assign detention or put a note of commendation in his file.

_‘Or maybe all of the above. I think Severus was chomping at his bit when Harry got that egg.’_ After a bit more rumination, she continued walking, eventually coming to a stop in front of the Portrait.

The portrait swung open without any prompting, and McGonagall took a moment to observe the Gryffindor Common Room, not many students had noticed her, they were all bustling about, the Twins were huddled in a corner with Lee Jordan, obviously plotting something, the younger Weasleys were talking amongst themselves, though Ronald did not look happy, various other students were reading or doing homework.

But she did not see the young wizard she’d come to see.

“They’re in their quarters. You might want to knock first.” Parvati said, smirking.

Raising an eyebrow, but saying nothing, Minerva turned and approached the small hallway, off to the side, approaching the painting, she noticed Mufasa turn and look at her, gave a slight nod, then turned and walked into the shadow of Pride Rock.

A few moments later, he walked back out, and nodded.

“They’re ready for you now Minerva.”

A slight smile crossed Minerva’s face. “Didn’t interrupt anything, did I?”

“No.”

“Ah, good.”

“But I did.”

Minerva sighed as the portrait swung forward, allowing entrance.

“You’ve been watching the Twins too much…” she muttered as she climbed through.

She found her two favorite lions sitting on the couch, their faces slightly red, almost flushed, Hermione looking particularly put out.

“Hello you two, I hope this isn’t a bad time, I wanted to see how you were doing Mister Potter.”

“I’m fine, we’re fine, thanks Professor.” Harry said, casting a slight smile towards Hermione.

“I must say Mister Potter, Godric would have been proud of you today, not only for coming in first, but also for the manner in which you pulled it off.”

“Uhm, thanks. Shame about my broom though.” Harry lamented.

“Brooms can be replaced Harry, you can’t.” Hermione said.

“Very true.” McGonagall said as she sat in one of the armchairs.

She regarded them for a few moments, before forging ahead.

“Have you told any of your housemates about your…_condition_ yet?”

“We told Neville and Hannah, we’re going to tell everyone else after Dinner tonight.” Hermione said. Minerva nodded.

“Do not be surprised if there is an article about today in tomorrow’s issue of the _Prophet_ Mister Potter. In fact, I’d be surprised if there _wasn’t_ one.”

“Yay.” Harry deadpanned.

Minerva smiled. Then she continued. “I suspect they’ll be taking the Dragons and their eggs back to the preserve tomorrow, though Charles is still very curious and anxious to speak to you to find out how you did what you did.”

Harry shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know why I did that, and I don’t know why it worked. By all rights, she should have taken my arm off at the very least. But…she didn’t, and I don’t know why.”

_‘I have a theory…’_ Minerva thought, her mind briefly wandering to an obscure legend she’d heard once in her youth.

“How are you two coping with…_this?_” she asked, gesturing to their surroundings. The two of them blushed, exchanged looks, then Hermione replied.

“We’re making progress, I’m still trying to work through Harry's hangups and reservations. I was right, at the beginning of the week, those…_people_…taught him _nothing!_ They even told him it wasn’t natural for teenagers our age to experiment or date, or _anything_.” Hermione snarled, her face contorting in anger.

“Harry can_ NOT_ go back to that house! I won’t allow my boyfriend to be mistreated by people who are _supposed_ to be his family!”

Minerva raised an eyebrow at her student’s outburst, but she didn’t say anything. If anything, she agreed with Hermione. She’d warned Albus they were unsuitable, but he had insisted.

Damn him.

“I mean, honestly! Can we honestly expect any of them to help him?” Hermione said. Harry went very pale.

“What makes you think I’d _want_ their help? You realize what you’re implying they’d have to do? What _I’D_ have to do?!” Harry yelped, giving her a look of disgust and horror.

Hermione blinked, his words sinking in, and her face turned several interesting colours.

“Oh god, I’m sorry Harry! I just meant that I don’t think the Dursleys would let you out of the house to meet up with any girls that live locally near you.”

“Of course, they wouldn’t.” Harry snorted, scowling and folding his arms. “Half the families on Privet Drive think I’m troubled delinquent whose parents were killed in a car crash while drunk, and that I spend all year at what is essentially, a cross between a Juvenile Detention Centre, and a Psychiatric Hospital.”

“_What_.” McGonagall growled.

“Yeah.” Harry shrugged. “They call it St Brutus's Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys.”

The two women starred at him.

“Never heard of it.” Hermione said. Then she scowled. “You’re _definitely _not going back there. I don’t _care_ what Dumbledore says. You can stay with me. Besides, I’d be in a similar situation as you, there are a few boys that live on our street, but I don’t really know them that well. Can you imagine what my parents would think if they started hearing rumors? At least with you there it’ll be easy for us to manage this.” Harry gave her a look.

“I dunno Hermione, I mean, sure, it’d be easier for us, but if your dad is anything like the parent of a teenage girl I think he is, he’ll be watching me like a hawk. So I doubt we’d get much time for that, if we even get any privacy. They certainly won’t let us sleep in the same bed as we do here.”

Harry winced as he saw the look McGonagall was giving him, so he tried to explain.

“We decided it would be easier for us if we slept together.” Harry said sheepishly. McGonagall sighed and rubbed at her eyes.

“As long as you two are careful, I guess I can allow it, though usually it would not be permitted considering your age, but considering the circumstances…”

“We are being careful Professor, we’ve only done…what we _need_ to do.” Hermione said, blushing slightly, then she looked back at Harry and continued her previous line of thought.

“Well, we have gotten pretty good at quickies.” She said, casting a sideways glance at McGonagall, who suddenly looked like she was wishing she was selectively deaf. “Besides, I haven’t even written my parents yet! I mean, what could I possibly say? _‘Dear mum and dad, things are going well here, we’re having a magical Olympics at the school, but I was cursed a week ago and now I have to drink sperm three times a day to avoid falling into a coma and dying. How are things with you guys?’_ Yeah…that would go over well…about as well as _‘I’m pregnant’_.” She huffed.

“I dunno Hermione, _‘I’m pregnant’_ seems like it’d be easier for them to believe.” Harry tried to give her a reassuring smile. Hermione gave him a look.

“Yes, it probably would, but they would probably ground me for life, and murder the supposed farther of the non-existent baby. Or try to.”

“Well, only reason we’ve done so well here is because we’re in a castle built to house thousands of students and staff, but in reality only has a few hundred students at most, so we’ve gotten lucky with empty corridors and classrooms, but I doubt your house is that spacious, and I doubt we’d be given the time or privacy, as I said.” Harry said.

Hermione sighed and nodded.

“Well, I guess you’re right. But like I said, you’re NOT going back to Privet Drive, you’d likely be dead by the end of the first week, I’m pretty sure your Aunt won’t help you, either of them, and I doubt they’d let you out of the house long enough to find anyone else to help you.”

Harry snorted. “No, they’d probably lock me in my room and wait for me to snuff it. And no, Aunt Petunia would _never_ help me, nor would I want her to, neither would Aunt Marge, she and my uncle must have been cut from the same mold. He’s basically an Elephant Seal on legs.”

“An Elephant Seal? That’s insulting to Elephant Seals. From what I’ve heard, I’d say he’d make Jabba the Hutt feel anorexic.”

“Who?” Harry and McGonagall asked.

“Never mind.”

“Are your housemates giving you any problems?” McGonagall asked.

Harry snorted, “In what respect? You mean most of them blanking me because they thought I cheated this year? Or everyone being too afraid to talk to me because they thought I was the Heir of Slytherin two years ago?”

“They’ve been blanking you?” Minerva asked, arching an eyebrow. She did not like what she was hearing.

Harry nodded. “Yeah, though to be honest, I don’t really mind, the only ones I’m really close to still talk to me so…and they did all talk to me earlier.”

“Only because they wanted to know how you avoided getting eaten.” Hermione said with a huff.

Minerva pursed her lips then stood. “Then it’s time I had a word with them I think. Oh, before I forget, I’m assuming since you two have decided to take your relationship further, you’re going to start the Bonding process fully?”

They nodded.

“Well then, given what we read in those books, it seems that you will start producing a lot sooner than we thought Hermione, and there is no telling how your condition will affect that as well.”

“What do you mean?” Hermione asked, a feeling of trepidation starting to rise.

“Well, the Curse you were hit with is said to accelerate the bonding process considerably, which means that you will not only start producing sooner than normal, but I think it might also affect how _much_ you produce, and how often.”

“Oh.” Hermione said.

“Mhm. If you experience any problems or discomfort, bring it to mine or Pomfrey’s attention as soon as you can, and we’ll see what we can do. Now then, I need to have a word with your housemates. You’re free to join me, or…erm…carry on with what you were doing before I got here.”

And with that, she turned and left to deal with her house. Harry turned to Hermione to ask her if she wanted to join Professor McGonagall and the others, only to stop at the look of sheer _hunger_ that was now filling her beautiful brown eyes, and before he could say anything, she stood, unfastened her skirt and pushed it down her legs, then almost aggressively pushed her knickers down her legs, before kicking them aside, leaving her naked from the waist down, save for her shoes and socks, before giving him an odd look he couldn’t quite place. When she spoke, her voice was thick, her face already flushing, and not from embarrassment.

“Potter. Get those trousers _off._ Then get on your back. _Now._”

Harry couldn’t help but smile as he started to do as she said, if he was honest with himself, he liked this dominant side.

A moment later, he was laying on his back on the couch, head resting on one of the arms, it wasn’t as comfortable as a bed, but it would do. He looked up at her, waiting for her next order. But she didn’t say anything.

She pounced.

-=-=-=-

Later that evening, at Dinner, Harry sat with Hermione on one side, and Neville and the Twins on the other, the rest of their house was rather subdued. He and Hermione had been too focused on each other to pay attention to the faint sound of McGonagall dressing down their housemates.

Harry was just glad none of them had tried to hex or attack him since he’d been entered into the Tournament. Though many of the Gryffindors were still giving him odd looks, a mixture of admiration and pity, as if they were starting to realize just how dangerous the contest was.

The rest of the Great Hall were also giving him looks, curiosity from the Ravenclaws, admiration from the Hufflepuffs, jealously from the Slytherins and Durmstrang, and respect from the Beauxbatons.

Daphne, he noticed, was giving him an odd look every now and then, when she wasn’t talking to her friends, Draco was constantly sending looks of loathing his way, which Harry returned. Krum and Cedric kept shooting him congratulatory looks, while Fleur kept looking at him oddly, though he wasn’t quite sure how to interpret that.

At the Staff table, it seemed to be business as usual, though Snape wouldn’t even look at him, and the few times he did, the greasy git was constantly glaring. Harry rolled his eyes and looked away, but not before he saw the look of pride on Hagrid’s face.

“So, how’d you do it?” one of the third years asked.

Harry shrugged, “I just let her know that I trusted her not to kill me is all.”

“By dropping your wand?” the boy asked.

“Had to show I wasn’t a threat. Way I figured it, the only humans she’d ever seen, had held sticks that shot light at her that I’m sure, hurt sometimes, and was probably very annoying for her. Plus she was only trying to protect her eggs, she was in an unfamiliar environment, and as far as she was concerned, if her eggs were there, _anything_ around her was a potential threat. Especially if it was armed.”

“And if it hadn’t worked?” another Gryffindor asked, repeating what Hermione had said earlier.

“Then it wouldn’t have mattered.” Harry said.

The rest of Dinner progressed quietly.

At the Staff table, Dumbledore eyed Harry carefully, the method he’d used to get the egg still amazed him, how the boy had done it, he did not know. In all his years, he’d never known of anyone doing what Harry had done, not in all the sources he’d ever found. When he’s spoken to Mister Weasley, the man had been almost giddy with curiosity, he also had no idea how Harry had done what he did, and he wanted to talk to Harry soon, before the Dragons went home, though Dumbledore had warned him he might not get the chance, then he’d suggested that he ask one of his brothers to get the information from the boy instead.

Dumbledore had asked Charlie if there had ever been any record of a human wrangling a dragon in that way, and Charlie had shook his head.

_“If there were, I’d know about it. There are some old stories, a myth or legend or some such nonsense, that say that’s how the first Dragon Handlers did it about 1000 years ago, but most who know that myth disregard it.”_

_“Oh? Why is that?”_

_“Because if those stories are true, the first humans to learn how to wrangle and deal with Dragons…were _Muggles._”_

_“Really? Surely not!”_

_“I know, that’s why pretty much everyone who knows the myth, dismisses it.”_

But…Dumbledore could not help but wonder.

“I can’t _believe_ that cheating little _bastard_ got First Place!” Snape growled to his right.

Dumbledore sighed. Now Severus was going to be even _more_ difficult.

At the Slytherin Table, Daphne looked over at Harry Potter, wondering. Her mind in a whirl.

She still couldn’t believe what he had done, Draco had been ranting non-stop, until one of the Prefects had told him to shut up and stop bleating.

She’d have to try and talk to him. Besides, wouldn’t he be coming to her for help soon? She’d have to approach him delicately. Then she smiled to herself as her thoughts began to run away with her.

-=-=-=-

Later that evening, in the main Gryffindor Common Room, Harry and Hermione sat on one of the sofas, most of Gryffindor house crowded around them. It was a bit intimidating.

“We don’t want the First or Second years hearing this, some of what we have to say…isn’t for them.” Hermione said.

Several protests were heard, but the Prefects ushered them out of the common room to their dorms. Once they came back, Hermione continued.

“Well…as McGonagall said, last Thursday, Draco confronted me and Harry, blabbing his usual nonsense. Words were said, spells were exchanged, then Draco used an old Greek Curse called the _Gift of Aphrodite_ or _Kiss of the Succubus_, apparently it has two names, though I’m not sure where the second one comes from.”

“What’s it do? If it’s named as a gift from the Greek Goddess of Love, then it can’t be too bad.” One of the Seventh Years asked.

“According to a couple of books we found the curse in, it didn’t start out as a curse, it was originally designed to help couples in the bedroom, as a means of foreplay, and to help form the Bond in couples that hadn’t yet formed one.”

“What’s a Bond?” Colin Creevey asked.

Hermione blinked. _‘Oh yeah, we’re not supposed to know about that until Fifth Year.’_

“Er…You’ll find out in two years.”

Ginny snorted, “We already know Creevey.”

“Do NOT tell them!” Hermione said, giving Ginny a hard look. “I’m sure there’s a reason students aren’t supposed to know until their fifth year, whether or not your parents tell you sooner is up to them.”

Ginny rolled her eyes “If you don’t want the Third- and Fourth-year Muggle-borns to know, then they have to leave now too. Though I imagine if they do, they’ll be constantly badgering the rest of us trying to figure out what you told us. So you might as well just tell them too.”

Harry and Hermione exchanged looks, before Harry sighed. “Fine, but you do NOT tell any of the younger years, ok? That includes your brother Colin.” He said, giving the young boy a look, who nodded.

“The Curse, in a nutshell, basically magically suppresses our body’s ability to absorb nutrients from the food we eat. Slowly leading to starvation over several days, which gets worse with each passing day. It also makes us feel tired and run down, even if we manage to get a full night’s sleep, and Pepper-up potions don’t work. After 4 days of not doing what we need to do got get the nutrients absorbed, we’ll slip into a coma, at which point, it’s pretty much game over, 2 or 3 days after that, our bodies give out.”

“Merlin…” Fred said.

“How the hell could _that_ be considered a Gift?!” Parvati yelped.

“I think it has something to do with the measures we have to take to counter the effects.”

“Which are?” Ginny asked.

“Urm…” the two of them exchanged another look, before looking again at the Third-years. Parvati suddenly perked up.

“Wait…you said this curse is called the _‘Kiss of the Succubus’_ right?”

“That’s one name for it, yeah.” Harry said.

“You know of it.” Hermione said.

Parvati sighed and nodded.

“I’ve heard of it, but only in passing, back in India. All I know is that it hasn’t been used in _centuries, _and when it was, was used early in the reign of the first Sultans, who used it to form Harems. Though I never learned how, or the specifics of the curse.”

“Did you find any hint of a cure?” Hermione asked. Parvati shook her head.

“The book we read seems to indicate that it’s creator did not intend for it to be a curse, but instead a means of foreplay for married couples, and as a side effect, accelerates the Bonding process, greatly so, which is probably a result of the methods used to counter it’s effects. It seems who ever created it, messed up somewhere, and couldn’t reverse the effects.” Harry said.

“Oh.” Several of their housemates said in unison.

“Yeah. ‘Oh’. So if you know what the Bond is and how it’s formed, then you know what Harry and I have to do to counter the curse’s effects.” Hermione said.

“How…often?” Lavender asked.

“At least three times a day, two at the bare minimum. Once every 12 hours at the _absolute_ minimum.”

“Bugger…no wonder McGonagall put you in private quarters.” Alicia said.

“Want us to kill the Ferret?” Katie asked, grinning evilly.

“As amusing as that would be, I don’t really fancy getting into a legal thing with Lucius because his son wound up dead and he decided to pin it on me.” Harry said, smirking “Bu the offer is appreciated though.”

“Ya know, what he did to you, could be considered Attempted Line Assassination, considering you weren’t immediately aware of the Curse’s effects and how to deal with it, and if convicted, it’ll get him a reservation at Hotel Azkaban. Might want to consider getting the DMLE involved.” Angelina pointed out.

“We know. We might consider it, but not until after this damn Tournament is over.” Harry said, “Unless Draco tries something else stupid before then.”

“Sooo…” Alicia said, eyeing them.

“So…what?” Hermione asked.

“You guys have to what? ‘Feed’ from each other at least twice a day to stay alive now…and if what you’re required to eat is what I _think_ it is, well, does it _have_ to be the two of you or…”

Hermione stiffened a little, but then relaxed, closed her eyes and let out a sigh, her mind, oddly enough, going back to her encounter with Krum in the library, and she felt a blush start to darken her face. “Well, we haven’t tried with anyone else yet, but I guess there’s no reason why we can’t, but at the moment, we don’t know for sure. I mean, my ‘time’ is coming up, starting in the next few days so…Harry at least will have to looks elsewhere, most of the time.”

The other assembled students all cringed, or most of them did, Colin just looked oblivious.

“Had any offers yet?” Lavender asked, wiggling her eyebrows at Harry, who blushed.

“Er…sort of.”

“Sort of? What do you mean ‘Sort of’ Potter?” one of the Sixth-years asked.

“Hermione's friends, Susan Bones and Daphne Greengrass, and a Ravenclaw named Luna Lovegood.”

“Oh _Merlin_! You’ve been talking to _Looney_?!” Ron cried, sitting back, looking scandalized.

Harry scowled. “Don’t call her that. Yes she’s a bit…eccentric, but aren’t half the people in this country insane? I mean, we have a school teaching kids how to use deadly weapons, we have a completely incompetent government whose public face is a brainless puppet, and we have serial killers working in said government and making all the rules.”

The others starred at him.

“Wow Brother of mine, I think young Harry has finally got it!” George crowed.

One of the seventh years snorted in the background. “Good thing Percy isn’t here, if he’d heard that, he would probably have thrown a fit. Or issued a detention.”

“Well, back on topic, so Harry, if by chance, you need a ‘boost’ as it were, and Hermione isn’t around, or otherwise un-available, you could always find and ask one of us.” Lavender said, flashing him a smile. Harry raised an eyebrow.

“24 hours ago, barely any of you were willing to talk to me, now you’re offering to help keep me alive? What’s your angle?” Harry said, folding his arms.

“What? We just want to help.” Lavender said.

Fey snorted. “You just want him to do to you what he did to Granger to make her scream like a banshee two days ago.”

Hermione's face flushed red at the memory. And Harry felt uncomfortable, he noticed Ron and Ginny giving him looks, Ron was glaring at him again, a look of pure jealously on his face, and Ginny was giving him an odd look he couldn’t place.

“Well, duh! Any guy who can make a girl scream like _that_ is a keeper.” Lavender replied. Then she looked back at Harry. “So how about it Harry?”

“I will take it under consideration.” _‘No I won’t.’_ he replied, adding the last bit in his head. “Besides, as my new girlfriend, Hermione gets first dibs.”

“Girlfriend? Since when?” Ron asked, ears turning red.

Harry shrugged “Just before McGonagall came in, we had a nice long chat, reflecting on our past interactions.”

“Well, I could give him what he needs. I’d be happy to.” Ginny smirked.

“Ah-HEM!” came the sound of three boys clearing their throats dramatically, she turned and looked at her brothers who were all giving her stern looks, and she rolled her eyes.

“As I said, under consideration.”

“Well…Harry, you could—” Colin started, but Harry raised his hand and shook his head emphatically.

“No. Sorry Colin, just _no._ I don’t swing that way.”

Harry then rolled his shoulders and checked his watch, checking the time, it was getting late.

“Well, it is getting late, and I don’t know about you guys, but I’m exhausted after today, so I need to get some sleep.”

“But we’re throwing a celebration party for you later! We were just going to get everything ready!” Fred protested. Harry shrugged.

“But I’m not the real Hogwarts Champion, remember?”

“Who cares?” George asked.

Hermione put her hand on Harry’s arm, he turned to her, and she gave him a reassuring smile. “They’re at least trying to make up for the past few weeks, and you _did_ come in first, so that does deserve a celebration.”

Harry smiled at her, then leaned in and hugged her, not seeing the scowl on Ron’s face, and the slightly hurt look on Ginny’s.

“Okay.”

-=-=-=-

** _Friday, November 25, 1994_ **

At breakfast the next morning, Harry was trying to not pay attention to all of the hustle and bustle going on, it seemed he was still the talk of the school, he’d seen the other Champions giving him thumbs up when he entered.

As expected, a flutter of wings heralded the arrival of the morning post.

Harry knew what was on the front cover of the _Daily Prophet_ before he even picked it up. He raised an eyebrow at the picture on the cover, which captured the few seconds it took for the Horntail to press her snout into his palm.

_‘This should be good.’_ He thought with a snort as he picked up the paper.

** _‘Triwizard history!’_ **

** _‘Youngest Hogwarts Champion in history Boy-Who-Lived secret Dragon whisperer or flagrant cheat?’_ **

** _By Rita Skeeter_ **

** _Yesterday history was made yet again dear readers! Following on from the historical appearance of the youngest Champion in Triwizard history on Halloween, yesterday, during the First Task, history was made yet again!_ **

** _For those who were not in attendance, the First Task involved the four Champions facing off against various nesting female Dragons. Their objective: A Golden Egg._ **

** _That’s right, you read correctly. Nesting female Dragons._ **

Harry skimmed most of the article, as it was just a play-by-play of each Champion’s challenge and what they did, though he did scowl when Rita accused him of cheating his way through his challenge, and making the suggestion that he used Parseltongue to ask the Dragon for the egg.

“I didn’t cheat…” he growled. On either side of him, he noticed Hermione and Neville lean in close.

“We know you didn’t Harry.” Neville said.

“She’s just a useless Ministry Mouthpiece, we KNOW this woman doesn’t do her research.” Hermione added. Harry nodded. He didn’t bother looking up at the other tables, he could _feel_ the eyes on him. He looked back at the paper.

** _We at the _ ** **Daily Prophet _do wonder however, WHY did the dragon press her snout into his palm? This behavior is completely unknown and has never been observed before in all the years humans have been interacting with dragons._**

** _This reporter had a chance to speak with one of the Dragon Handlers, Charles Weasley, second eldest son of Ministry Employee Arthur Weasley. He is quoted as saying:_ **

** _“Harry was pretty tight-lipped about what happened, he wouldn’t really say much, other than he saw the dragon was coming, figured he was as good as dead, but still being the brave Gryffindor he was, decided to try and tackle her bare-handed, since he admitted he did not know any spells that would work on a dragon.”_ **

Harry rolled his eyes, he _highly_ doubted Charlie would have bothered to talk to Skeeter, he would have been too busy with the dragons. Her statement was a blatant lie anyway, he still hadn’t had the chance to talk to Charlie yet, and from what the twins and Ron had said, Charlie had left the night before, along with the other handlers and the dragons.

** _In the Hospital Tent, where the Champions were being tended to after their respective tasks, this reporter got a chance to sit down and interview each of them._ **

“No, you didn’t.” Harry muttered.

** _Mister Diggory was quoted as saying: “It was touch and go for a moment, but thanks to the skills I learned here at Hogwarts, thanks to the excellent instruction of my Professors, I was able to power through.”_ **

Harry snorted, “Bollocks. That’s not what he said at all.”

“Oh? What did he say?” Fred asked, looking over at Cedric, who was rolling his eyes and snorting.

“She called him ‘Mister Buggery’ and he said _‘It’s Diggory, you useless hack.’_” Harry said, chuckling, as did several other Gryffindors.

** _Next, Miss Delacour was quoted as saying: “_ ** ** _Va te faire foutre_ ** ** _.” Which my colleagues have informed me means “It was no trouble at all.” Very humble of Miss Delacour._ **

Harry snorted _again_, as did Hermione, a chorus of giggles and laughter drew his attention to the Beauxbatons students, who were all patting Fleur on the back, and laughing. Fleur herself was grinning, looking very pleased with herself.

“I don’t really know French, but I’m pretty sure that’s _not_ what she said.” One of the Gryffindors said.

“No.” Hermione said, chuckling. “Fleur literally told Skeeter to fuck off.” At this, the rest of Gryffindor broke out into laughter.

** _Mister Krum was quoted as saying: “It was difficult, the Dragon put up a good fight, but clearly, I made a mistake using the spell I used. And it cost me dearly.”_ **

“’No Comment.’” Harry paraphrased, as he looked up at Krum, seeing him scowling and throwing down his copy of the paper in disgust. He started to make gestures to his friends and school mates, who clearly shared his opinion. Then he sighed, preparing himself for whatever blatant lie Skeeter had prepared as his ‘Interview’.

** _And finally dear readers, we have an exclusive interview with Harry Potter, the highest scorer of the Tournament. He is quoted as saying: “It was harrowing! After my broom was destroyed, for a moment, I had no idea what to do! Then it hit me: Feed her, get her distracted, get in and get the Egg. Well, the feeding part worked, but I stumbled, and she heard me, looked up and saw me. So I decided to prove myself a true Gryffindor and tackle her bare-handed.”_ **

Harry snorted. “Again, No Comment. At least she can’t make it up completely, since there’s a photo right there of what happened.”

** _When asked about how he managed to subdue the Dragon, Mister Potter replied: “I’m a Parselmouth you see, so I figured ‘Why not try talking to her? Dragons are related to snakes after all.’, so that’s what I did, I spoke to her, asked if I could pet her snout, then held out my hand for her.”_ **

Harry scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Utter _Bollocks!_” he growled.

“Language!” Hermione scolded.

“I _didn’t_ use Parseltongue, Dragons are NOT related to snakes. this…_Woman…_is completely _FULL_ of shite.”

_“Language!”_ Hermione said more forcefully. Then she paused, “Wait, how did she find out you’re a Parselmouth?” Harry shrugged.

“_Anyone_ here could have told her. The entire school has known for 2 years.” Harry growled, throwing down his paper in disgust again, this time, he ignored it, but he still felt the eyes on him from all over the room.

He’d have to send Sirius a letter later explaining everything.

At the Head table, Dumbledore sat watching young Harry, after reading his own copy of the paper. He knew of course, that Rita was lying through her teeth, at least regarding the ‘interviews’. Though he did find it amusing that no-one at the _Prophet_ had bothered to correct Rita’s mis-translation of Fleur’s comment to her, which seemed to indicate to Albus that the woman was not as well liked among her peers as he suspected she believed herself to be.

While he might not know the secret behind Harry's performance in the arena, Dumbledore had to admit he’d been surprised, impressed and once it was over, relieved. For a few seconds, he honestly thought the boy was going to die a horrible death, which would have messed up _everything_ of course.

_‘I thank Merlin that he wasn’t facing a Nadder, Nightmare, Razorwhip, or magic forbid, a _Skrill_, those species are on the Critically Endangered list, and are incredibly violent, and considering what happened with Krum…Dropping his wand in front of an agitated nesting dragon. Hm, a True Gryffindor indeed.’_ he thought.

Still, everything was fine, Harry was fine, now all he had to do was make it through the rest of the Tournament. He had a destiny to fulfil, after all.

-=-=-=-

** _Ministry of Magic, Office of the Senior Under-Secretary._ **

Senior Under-Secretary Dolores Jane Umbridge threw down her copy of the _Daily Prophet_ in disgust.

The Potter brat had cheated! There was no other way to explain him coming in _FIRST!_ A miserable _Half-breed_ spawn of a Blood Traitor and his…_Mudblood_ whore of a wife.

Dolores suppressed a minor snarl at the thought, those…animals…had no place among humans! Only thing worse, were the _vermin_ that spawned them.

And to add insult to injury, to make matters _worse_, the _actual_ half-breed abomination from France had got a higher score than someone who was _clearly_ her superior in every way.

Oh yes, Dolores knew what Fleur Delacour was. It was impossible _not _to. It was clear to anyone with functioning eyes and a working brain what the French harlot was the moment they looked at her. It was bad enough that they let _Mudbloods _into their education system, but on the continent, they allowed half-breed abominations into their schools as well!

It perplexed, and honestly infuriated Dolores, that a man like Monsieur Delacour would be willing to stick his dick in a magical _creature! _Surely there were laws against that. Then again, she had heard tale of a witch who lived during the 1930s or 40s in France, who was, if the accounts were accurate, half House-Elf!

How in Merlin’s name did _THAT _work?!

_‘Then again…’_ she mused, _‘There is Flitwick, who if I’m not mistaken, is half Goblin. Then there’s that oaf of a Grounds Keeper, Rubeus Hagrid, who I’m pretty sure is Half-Giant. No ordinary human is _that _big…then you have the Centaurs in the Forbidden forest, and in other places, then there’s the Merpeople in the Black Lake…those disgusting _fish…_I guess humans as a species are willing to fuck just about _anything_ with a penis or vagina, regardless of what species it is.’_

Her mind went back to Viktor Krum. While she did not know the Krum family, the fact that he was a Pure-Blood, a _proper_ Wizard of decency and breeding, from good stock, with a respectable position as Seeker for his national Quidditch team, should have guaranteed him First Pace.

Should have, but it _hadn’t._

She looked down at the article again, reading the section that detailed the Handlers examining the remains of the nest Chinese Fireball had destroyed after Krum blinded it, and they had discovered that, in fact, the damage had been worse than first thought. _All_ of the dragon’s eggs had been destroyed, save one.

She snorted.

That was _hardly_ Krum’s fault! The stupid lizard just didn’t bother moving away from her nest is all. It certainly wasn’t reason enough to dock him so many points and put him _last_, behind inferior competitors and _cheaters!_

Something would have to be done.

She paused, thinking of Cedric Diggory, the _true_ Hogwarts Champion. He was a Pure-Blood, like Krum, and no doubt the young man tried his best during his task, and he _had_ come in second place…but still…

Then an idea came to her, if she could get herself onto the Judging Committee, she would soon set things to rights. The first task was a wash, but there was the second one coming up in February. Plans would have to be made, if she could learn what the Task was meant to be, she could arrange a little…’accident’ for the Potter brat. She would have to find out quickly, however.

She scowled as she looked down at the photograph in the article, that showed the moment the Horntail pressed it’s snout to Potter’s outstretched palm, instead of _biting it off!_

_Clearly,_ he had used some sort of magic to subdue the mindless animal just before he dropped his wand, or he had a second focus hidden on his person, she would have to investigate. She highly doubted he used Parseltongue as Skeeter claimed, as Dolores knew that dragons and snakes were not related, so the language would not work on them. So it had to have been something else.

Then there was the _other_ issue concerning Potter.

Her mind went back to the conversation she’d had with Lucius Malfoy the other day, who had received a rather petulant letter from his son, Draco.

Draco was a nice fine young man, he had _great_ potential, but he was spoiled, a little arrogant, and a bit too cocky for his own good. Apparently, Draco had tried to hit the Mudblood Granger with an old Greek curse, and Potter had stepped in to take the hit instead.

_Fool._

Though the Mudblood had apparently still been hit, so Draco's efforts weren’t a failure by any means. When Lucius had told her the specifics of the Curse Draco had used, she’d laughed, the thought of the Mudblood being reduced to nothing more than a whore, as was her proper station, was oddly fitting. The fact that the Curse’s side effects were _lethal_ if ignored, well, that was just icing on the cake, sadly, she saw no way to make them forego managing their new ‘_condition’_, at least not while she was outside of Hogwarts, oh well…

The main issue Draco had brought to his father’s attention, was Dumbledore’s punishment for Cursing Potter and the Mudblood.

_That_ had rankled her, though Lucius had just rolled his eyes at his son’s demands that he _‘fix this!’_, the fact that Draco had been invalidated as a possible choice for Prefect next year was unwarranted! That could NOT stand! The Prefect position was one of the most prestigious a student could hold, next to Head Boy and Girl, but to _deny_ Draco of that, for simply doing the _right thing_ in punishing Potter for cheating his way into the Tournament, that could not be allowed to stand! She would have to find a way to get into a position to correct that…depending on how the Tournament went, it might provide her with an option.

Then her thoughts turned to _other_ matters…she’d heard whispers, rumors, that the Dark Lord was returning soon, that he had never truly died, and had merely been biding his time all these years.

She scowled.

Voldemort’s time had passed. He’d had his chance, and he’d failed. Defeated by a _baby._ That _proved_ he was no _real_ Dark Lord, surely not. Her mind went back a year, to the summer of 93, after the Chamber of Secrets fiasco, she’d traveled to Hogwarts during the summer break, when all of the students, and most of the staff, were at home, and the castle was virtually empty, save for the ghosts and a hand full of staff who stayed year-round.

It had taken her some doing, and she’d had to rely almost exclusively on the ghosts for her intel, as the few staff she talked to refused to tell her anything, but she had eventually managed to get information that led her to the ghost Myrtle Warren, or Moaning Myrtle, as she was known. The ghost was constantly depressed, and talking to her was depressing, but she _had_ learned how the girl had died.

A Basilisk.

Though Myrtle hadn’t explicitly _said_ it was a Basilisk, from what she had been told, and from what she knew of dangerous magical creatures, it had been obvious. The girl had also mentioned hearing a boy in the bathroom hissing, just before she died, giving Dolores the hint as to who it had been, since Voldemort was a well-known Parselmouth.

Uncovering who he was while at Hogwarts had been difficult, to the point where she almost gave up, but Dolores had been determined, she’d asked Myrtle if she’d noticed anything unusual during the previous school year, when the Chamber had been opened again. All the ghost had said was that someone had tried to flush a diary down her toilet. A diary monogrammed with the name **_T M RIDDLE_**. Thanking Myrtle, Dolores had left the bathroom and tracked down one of the other ghosts, hoping they’d know more; one had. The Grey Lady, who, in a rare instance, spoke, and told Dolores what happened after Myrtle’s death, how Hagrid had been blamed and expelled, and the student who ‘caught’ him, one Tom Riddle, had been awarded honors for services to the school.

Dolores blinked, sitting up straight as an epiphany struck her.

Tom Riddle was Voldemort.

How had she not realized that a year ago?

Picking up her quill, she inked it and grabbed a spare piece of parchment and wrote ‘LORD VOLDEMORT’ then mentally dissected the name, taking out the letters and rearranging them to spell Tom Riddle.

It didn’t fit. Not entirely. She wrote down her first deduction.

** _TOM RDDLE_ **

_‘But where did the extra letters go?’_ She wondered, she was missing something, Tom’s middle name.

She cleared the parchment and tried again.

** _I AM LORD VOLDEMORT_ **

She almost laughed when she wrote out **_TOM_**_ **RIDDLE**_ on the parchment. _Almost_.

Dolores scrutinized the parchment and frowned. She could not recall a magical family named Ridddle among the Sacred Twenty-Eight, which meant it had to be a lesser family. The alternative did not bare thinking about. She stood and headed out of her office, taking the parchment and her quill with her, heading for the Hall of Records. If the Riddle family was magical, it would be recorded there. As she walked, she went over the spare letters in her head and tried to piece together Voldemort’s middle name, hopefully that would give some clue to his heritage, if she couldn’t find any trace of the Riddles.

Ideally, she hoped her search would prove him to be a Proper Wizard, as he always claimed, and at least, a Half-Blood, while not a crime, it would call his claim to be a Dark Lord into question, if the Riddles were not magical.

Worst case scenario, he was a Mudblood. Which would also not only invalidate his claims of Lordship, it would also make him a hypocrite of the highest order, but no, that did not make sense. He’d waged a campaign of terror against the Mudbloods as much as, if not more so, than he did the Pure-Bloods and Half-Bloods that opposed him during his first rise.

There was also the fact that he was a Parselmouth. Parseltongue, the magical ability to communicate with snakes, as far as she knew, was hereditary, and the last known British wizard to possess it was Slytherin himself, though she had heard the odd rumor awhile ago that Potter was a Parselmouth, but that couldn’t be right.

Dolores paused outside the Hall of Records, trying to piece together Riddle’s middle name, but she couldn’t, shaking her head, she entered the large room and began her search.

-=-=-=-

** _Riddle Manor_ **

Voldemort scowled as Barty lowered the copy of the _Prophet_ he had brought from Hogwarts, Barty had reported earlier in the week that Potter and the Mudblood had managed to find a way to mitigate the curse affecting them, though Barty had not yet discovered how they were doing so. Apparently, it was an old Greek curse, that had fallen out of favor many centuries ago. It seemed that the curse wasn’t having that much of a negative impact, so Riddle had to wonder why Draco would chose such a spell.

_‘Rita is an idiot. He did not use Parseltongue. But he _clearly_ did something.’_ Riddle thought.

He had to admit though, watching the looping magical photo in the paper, that what Harry had done was most unusual, he had heard an ancient Nordic legend while journeying through Scandinavia many years ago, before his first rise, but those he had spoken to who knew of the legend dismissed it, as, apparently, if the legends were true, the humans they centered around were either muggles or muggle-borns, so naturally, Riddle had dismissed it as well.

Now he was given pause to wonder…he knew the Potters went back to the 9th or 10th century, and he was pretty sure the family had it’s roots in Britain…hm…

_‘Either way, it is irrelevant, if Barty ensures Potter finishes the final task, arrives in the graveyard, and Potter serves his purpose, it does not matter what secrets his family held. They won’t save him.’_

_“Very good Barty, return to the castle and continue to observe.”_

Barty bowed, rose and left the room.

_“Wormtail…it is time for my feeding.”_ He hissed. Off the side, Peter shuddered, he always hated milking Nagini.

-=-=-=-

** _12 Grimmauld Place, London._ **

Sirius threw down his copy of the _Prophet_ and reached for the glass of fire whisky he’d opened. He hadn’t called Harry after the task, since he had no idea if Harry or Hermione would even be in the private common room, and if they had been, he might have…_interrupted _something.

He chuckled to himself, the curse honestly didn’t seem to be that bad, if you ignored certain aspects of it. Yes, he’d be pissed as all hell if someone had ever used that spell on him, or Remus, or James or Lily when they were back at Hogwarts. But still…sure, he got his own needs taken care of thanks to some of the local strays that wandered the area but…the dogs he interacted with didn’t really want to hug afterwards, not that they really could anyway.

Still, looking down at the photo in the paper, he was sure James and Lily would have been proud, terrified out of their minds, sure, but proud all the same.

He let out a bark of laughter when he read Fleur’s ‘interview’ with Skeeter, the joke made all the sweeter by the fact that Rita apparently didn’t know French.

Though he felt sure that Harry never would have spoken to the woman, not after his first disastrous interview.

He threw back his head and swallowed the whisky, then let out a jet of flame as it settled, and he raised his glass in a toast.

“Well done Harry. You did your parents and me proud.”

He couldn’t wait to get the full story from Harry.

His attention was caught by the sound of the fire roaring, and someone stepping out of it.

“Remus? That you?” he called.

“Yeah.” Came the reply. “I got dinner. Chicken.”

Sirius grinned and stood, stretching, before grabbing the paper as Remus entered the study, holding a brown paper bag.

“How about some light reading while we eat?”

-=-=-=-


	10. A promise and a bet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok folks, here's chapter 10! I was honestly surprised at the amount of response I got to the previous chapter, though considering what happened in it, I guess i should have expected that. I know it was difficult for a lot of you to get through, don't worry, it won't get that dark (sexually) again. I'm starting to lay the ground work for the future pairings over this and the next chapter. Let me be clear here: Hermione is not bisexual YET, the F/F/F tag is there for future chapters. I want to try and make that a mini-character arc for her, development wise.
> 
> Also, i've created my own Discord server, here: [Link](https://discord.gg/EYPgtjt) So you guys can talk with me on this and other projects i have going and i'm developing in my head (i have a few fic ideas, some of which i will be hinting at next chapter), it's still WIP, so bare with me :P. Also, one of my reviewers last chapter suggested i make a game out of franchise reference inserts. So i will. From now on, i'll try to get at least one reference to another franchise that i know of into each chapter and i want you guys to try and spot them. (everyone missed the Planet of the Apes and HTTYD references last chapter)

**Chapter 10: A promise and a bet.**

** _Friday, November 25, 1994._ **

** _Just after lunch break._ **

Neville moaned as he looked down into the beautiful brown eyes of his girlfriend Hannah, her head bobbed forward and backward at a tortuously slow pace as she gently, lovingly, suckled him.

He gently cradled her head with one hand, while the other was pressed against the wall, if for no other reason than he simply didn’t know what to do with it.

Hannah smiled at him around the penis in her mouth, her eyes burning with hunger, but also shining with love. She knew her parents would not be too happy with her if they knew she was Bonding with Neville before they were technically allowed to, but…what they didn’t know, wouldn’t hurt them.

“Ha—Hannah…” Neville moaned as she drew back, his shaft leaving her mouth with an audible ‘pop’.

“My my, Mister Longbottom…this is _quite_ an impressive wand you have here.” She said in a low husky tone, as she pressed her lips to his urethra in a loving kiss, flicking the tip of her tongue against it a few times, then she tilted her head and leaned in, one hand coming up to gently cradle his balls as she started to inhale, then she opened her mouth and blew warm air over the two orbs she held in her hand, then planted an open-mouthed kiss against each one, grinning to herself as she felt him jerk. Then she pulled back, her tongue trailing the underside of his shaft in a long broad lick.

“Yes. A _very_ impressive wand. And I have two warm, tight and _wet_ holsters that I think this will fit in _perfectly._” She then winked up at him as she made a show of repositioning herself on the floor, then, making sure he was watching her left hand, she moved it up and under her skirt, between her legs, the rapid moving of her arm and the faint wet sounds that could be heard a clear indication of what she was doing.

Then, pressing her lips to his tip in another kiss, she then started to lick his crown. Then she briefly pulled back, and whispered, “Did I say two? My mistake, I meant _three._” And with that, she opened her mouth and engulfed his entire length, not stopping until her lips and nose were pressed into his pubic hair, and his tip was at the back of her throat.

For his part, Neville’s brain nearly flatlined as he felt his girlfriend’s throat constrict as she swallowed to overcome her gag reflex, as she started to breathe heavily through her nose, then she moaned and closed her eyes.

His head lolled back against the wall of the broom cupboard they were in, and he fought desperately to stop himself from thrusting, she’d already taken him into the back of her throat, he figured she wouldn’t appreciate it if he started forcing his dick _down_ her throat, even if he could get any more in, though he figured his shaft wasn’t that flexible anyway.

But by _Merlin_, what she was doing felt _amazing!_ He wondered how she was so good at this, since this was their first time doing this since agreeing to try the Bonding process a little earlier than was customarily allowed, after their talk with Harry and Hermione. And although they hadn’t been dating that long, Hannah had said she was ready to try it, and he’d agreed, and after their talk with Harry and Hermione, the two of them had sworn to keep an eye on Draco, and if either of them found themselves in a similar position to his housemates, then they promised each other that each could count on the other for everything.

That, and that they would brutally murder the one responsible for using that curse on them, whoever it would be.

Then she started to bob her head in earnest, and their little private space was soon filled with the sounds of sucking, quiet slurping and gulping, with the occasional gulping, and the heavy sound of her breathing through her nose.

His body tensed, he was getting close, but he desperately tried to will himself not to cum, he wanted this to last _forever._ He reached down and took hold the hand that was gently stroking his sac, gently interlacing his fingers with hers as she looked up at him questioningly, their eyes locked, and he smiled, panting as he swallowed, trying to wet his suddenly dry mouth. Then he felt his balls tighten and he knew it wouldn’t be long, then, with a grunt and an involuntary thrust, he pushed his hips forward a little as his body locked up and he cried out.

“Ha—Hannah…! I’m…I’m…!”

That was all the warning Hannah Abbott got before her mouth was filled with a thick slightly salty, and slightly bitter liquid. The first spurt it the back of her throat and she almost gagged, but resolutely kept going, she clamped her mouth down, swallowing to close off her throat and stop herself choking, and she pulled back, just as a second spurt hit the roof of her mouth, then a third, then finally, just as she drew back, until just his glans was in her mouth, a final spurt and trickle hit the underside of her tongue.

“Mmmph! Mmmph…Mmm…_Mmmmm…Hhhmmmmm……_”

Hannah let out several muffled surprised yelps which quickly turned into moans as the taste of Neville’s cum fully registered, and she mulled the taste over in her mind as she gently suckled on his sensitive tip, extracting the last few droplets of semen from her boyfriend.

_‘Hm, a little salty, but also kind of sweet…I like it.’_ she thought, then she tilted her head back and opened her mouth, letting him see the pool of white that filled most of it, then she closed it and swallowed, then shuddered as her own climax finally crashed over her, and she stiffened, sucking in a quick breath as her body shook in small tremors, and she slowly sucked his softening length back into her mouth as a high pitched cry, that was muffled down to a moan, emanated from her. Then she sagged against his legs as hers finally gave out.

She found herself being pulled unsteadily to her feet, her left hand still between her legs, now covered in her own juices as Neville drew her to him with his free arm and kissed her, evidently not caring that he could taste himself on her, which scored him some points in her book.

Pulling back, she panted and looked at him, her lips swollen and her face flushed.

“How was that stud?” she panted. Neville grinned.

“Amazing.” He panted, as he started to tuck himself away, only to look down and catch a glimpse of where her left hand still was, her skirt bunched up behind it.

“How did you get so good?” he asked. She smiled and winked.

“I asked a few of the older girls for some tips.”

“Urm…” he felt his face flush even more, and he looked away, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. “Sorry…”

“What for?” she asked, tilting her head slightly and smiling at him, her eyes half lidded with affection.

“For urm…looking?” he asked awkwardly. Her answering laughter was gentle and warm, not condescending or mocking in any way.

“Nev, darling, I just gave you your first blowjob, swallowed your cum, my first mouthful of cum _ever_, and on top of that, you’re my _boyfriend_. If anyone on this planet has the right to see that part, or any other part of my body, at anytime, anywhere, it’s _you._ Want a closer look?” she said, her last question came out as a husky whisper.

Mutely, Neville nodded, and she gently patted him on the shoulder, coaxing him down to sit on the bench, then she moved in front of him, and holding her skirt in place with her right hand, she pulled her left away from her slit.

Her fingers were wet and covered in moisture, she then turned her wrist, until her palm was facing him, and she extended her middle and ring finger towards him, the two that had been inside her.

Wordlessly, he reached up and pulled her hand to him, and took her fingers into his mouth and started to suck. He let out a slight moan at the taste, not quite able to place it, then he looked at her slit more closely, noting with interest how swollen, puffy and _wet_ her smooth lips were. They were also slightly parted, allowing him to see what lay beneath.

This close, he could also feel the heat radiating from her, and he could _smell_ her, and not just her hand either.

And in his humble opinion, he’d never seen or smelt anything so beautiful.

Then his eyes tracked up and he froze, his eyes widening and he stopped sucking her fingers, even though he was pretty sure they were clean now.

“Surprise.” Hannah said with a smile in her voice.

There, just above her slit, where her pubic hair should have been, was a tattoo. A _magical_ tattoo, that was animated. He recognized it of course.

A stylized medieval shield split into two colors: blue on the left, red on the right, bridged by a yellow chevron. Layered over the chevron, in a triangle patter, were three depictions of a rope, tied in a knot, from which hung a horn. And on either side of the shield, stood a grey eagle, each tall with their heads raised and beaks open, their wings unfurled.

As he watched, the eagles occasionally fluttered their wings and clicked their beaks, letting out silent cries of challenge.

Neville stared, shocked and fascinated, and more than a little flattered, for there right in front of him, right above his girlfriend’s smooth and very _wet_ fanny, was an animated tattoo of the Longbottom Family Crest.

_His_ Family Crest.

“Urm…Wow…” he said, as she pulled her hand away.

“You like it? It’s only temporary, it’ll fade in a month or two. Though I am planning to get a permanent one.”

“Wow…” he said again.

“I know it’s a bit early for that kind of step, but I figured I might as well send a message to everyone else around me, even if no-one besides you will ever see this. I am _yours._ And even when I’m in bed at night in my dorm, you will still be with me.” Hannah said as she released her skirt and it fell back around her legs, and it was then that Neville finally realized, she had gone commando.

“Wow…” Neville said a _third_ time. Hannah giggled and pulled him to his feet, kissing him again.

“Come on Nev, we’ve got classes to get to.”

And with that, she turned and unlocked the door, and they headed out.

“Oh _sure_, like I’d be able to concentrate on lessons after _that._” He joked.

-=-=-=-

Hermione worried her lower lip as she made her way down to the Dungeons for double Potions after lunch, she was feeling…_horny_. And on top of that, she was feeling slightly guilty. During lunch, she’d thought about the talk that she and Harry had had the night before, and how she hadn’t mentioned her little ‘encounter’ with Krum in the library, and that she’d promised him a second round.

Obviously, she couldn’t now, since she now had a boyfriend, it wouldn’t be right.

_‘No more right than you encouraging him to go muff-diving with other girls?’_ her inner voice asked, Hermione slowed, but didn’t stop.

_‘That’s different.’_ She replied.

_‘How so?’_

_‘My period is coming up, and I don’t think Harry wants to run the risk of getting a mouth full of blood. I’m fairly sure he wouldn’t like it, unless he was a vampire.’_ Hermione reasoned.

_‘There are charms and spells for that. You know this.’_ Her inner voice replied.

Hermione sighed. _‘I know that, but those charms are meant to keep a witch’s knickers clean. My bleeding doesn’t run on a schedule. Nothing would kill the mood faster than him suddenly getting a mouthful of blood and choking on it. So better for him to get what he needs elsewhere.’_

_‘You’re assuming he would want to. You’re assuming he would not see it as cheating. And what if he insists that you feed from others?’_

_‘I don’t need to though.’_

_‘What if he insists? What if he refuses to go to someone else if you won’t? What will you two do during the summer months while he is staying with you and your parents, assuming you can arrange that? Whose fanny will he dive into then? Your _mum’s_?’_

Hermione stopped. She hated to admit it, but her inner voice had a point.

What _was_ she going to do during the summer months? Especially if she couldn’t, or if McGonagall couldn’t, arrange for them to spend the summer under the same roof.

And even if they _did_ spend the summer together, what would they do when her time came around again?

After several minutes of trying, and failing, to come up with some solutions, Hermione sighed.

“One thing at a time. For now, find Harry and tell him about Krum, and hope he won’t be too mad. Besides, we’ve started Bonding now, so with the curse boosting it, I should start producing milk in a few weeks or so, so he could just use that.”

_‘You’re assuming that will work.’_ Her inner voice replied, _‘And what happens in the event one of you just isn’t in the mood to give head?’_

_‘What do you mean?’_ Hermione asked, somehow not finding it strange that she was having a silent conversation with herself.

_‘Simple. There will no doubt be times or even days where one of you just isn’t in the mood to dive between the other’s legs. Or _anyone’s_ legs for that matter. What will you do then?’_

_‘We’ll manage.’_ She replied. Then a thought occurred to her as she turned a corner, heading towards the Charms classroom. _‘Besides, the Curse also causes elevated arousal in its victims that is almost constant, so not ‘_being in the mood’_ is probably irrelevant, at this point. Besides, the book said there is a chance the frequency of our feedings may go down eventually, probably after we’ve finalized the Bond.’_

_‘There’s no guarantee of that. Just because you’re drooling like a leaking tap and he’s probably as hard as a baseball bat, doesn’t necessarily mean you two will _mentally _want to do it. Never thought I’d have to explain that to you, and anyway, the book also mentioned animals as a possible source. Could you and Harry really take _that_ step?’_

Hermione paused, thinking, trying to imagine a situation where she or Harry would have to resort to that. She tried to ignore the mental image her inner voice had created of what that would entail, but she couldn’t.

And while she did feel uncomfortable as she started to picture herself doing something that normally she’d never consider doing, she was so surprised at the sudden spike in her own arousal that she stumbled forward and braced herself against a wall.

“Argh!…You’re too damn horny for your own good Granger.” She growled at herself as a shiver of lust rippled through her, and she felt her core _pulse_ at the mental image of her on her knees next to a Centaur. Of course, she doubted any of the centaurs would ever _allow _that to happen. They were a very proud and private people, and not too fond of humans, after all.

Then her mind betrayed her again, and another image, of her on her knees next to a Unicorn stallion, doing the same thing, came into her mind, and hermione bit her lip to suppress the slight moan escaping as another pulse of arousal shot through her, and she screwed her eyes shut and bowed her head in shame as she felt moisture start to trickle down her thighs.

_‘God damn it!’_ she mentally cried in frustration as a single tear trickled down a cheek.

_‘You think it’s bad now.’_

_‘What do you mean? Are you my libido or something? And shut up! This, right here, is YOUR fault!’ _

_‘No, I’m just part of you. Face it, you’re going to be in a for a rough week. You always get turned on really easily round your period, usually you deal with it alone in private. You won’t have that luxury now. And judging by what just happened, I’m guessing this Curse will make it ten times _worse _for you. You’re going to end up being so horny that you’ll probably end up wanting to fuck or suck _anything _with a penis, or maybe even a vagina, in and around the school, Hogsmeade or the Forest, regardless of how many legs it has.’_

Hermione straightened up, her face flushing with embarrassment, arousal, indignation, shame and anger as she scowled. She was _so_ lucky the corridor was deserted right now, if anyone had approached her now, she wasn’t sure if she could stop herself from pouncing on them.

_‘I will NOT be going into the Forest to give blowjobs to random Unicorns or Centaurs!’_ she yelled mentally. _‘And for your information, I can keep a tight rein on my sex drive, thank you very much!’_

_‘We’ll see. Besides, I never said you _had_ to go into the Forest. You could always use the Room if Harry isn’t available. Besides, it’s not really bestiality if it’s a non-living magical construct, right?’_

_‘We’re not having this conversation anymore. Besides, if it’s a non-living magical construct, it can’t produce anything, which means it’s useless.’_ Hermione mentally snapped, forcing the mental images her over-active imagination was trying to show her to the back of her mind. But as much as she tried to forget and burry the mental conversation she’d just had with herself, and the thoughts that had surfaced, she couldn’t. She sighed. Her inner voice was right about one thing, she was going to be in for a rough week, and maybe weekend.

-=-=-=-

Unfortunately, enduring Snape’s not so subtle jabs at Gryffindor during their double Potions lesson hadn’t distracted her too much, not to mention the fact that she and Harry hadn’t had the time to ‘feed’ after lunch, since he’d gotten swept away by some of the boys, and she was starting to get hungry and a little tired again, and looking at Harry, it was clear he was in no better shape.

She rubbed her thighs together as she tried to concentrate on the potion they were making, but it was difficult.

_‘Never try to brew potions while horny.’_ She thought, it was an un-needed distraction. Speaking of…her gaze involuntarily went down to her right side, down to Harry's lap, where he was occasionally shifting under the guise of stirring the cauldron. She could clearly make out the distortion in his pants and she unconsciously licked her lips as she felt her clit _throb_. Somehow, she’d managed to keep herself together enough not to pounce on him or any of the other boys around her, though it was taking all of her self-control to do so.

_Merlin_…her inner voice was right. This damned curse _was_ going to make her period worse! This was usually how she was at the _height_ of her cycle, not at least two days _before it even started!_ If she didn’t get any time immediately after dinner, then she’d have to head to the Room with Harry. Because right now, she just wanted to screw the Potions lesson and _eat_ some dick. Preferably Harry’s.

A thought occurred to her, an idea; reach down into Harry's lap and quickly bring him off, then lean over under the guise of retrieving something dropped, and catch his release and quickly swallow it, but she quickly dismissed the idea. To do that properly without getting caught, she’d have to cast a Notice-Me-Not charm on themselves, to avoid being seen by the students to the back, left or right, and there was no guarantee Snape wouldn’t catch her casting it and give them both Detention.

He’d been watching the both of them like a hawk since the first lesson started, and they were just into the second. The _last_ thing she wanted right now, was getting served Detention when all she wanted to do was lean over and have a decent quick meal, and have a very important itch _scratched._

Then again, he’d looked even _more_ unpleasantly at Harry, and would probably heap a generous points deduction on top of the detention, just because.

_‘Merlin…I hope I can maintain concentration enough until after dinner…’_

-=-=-=-

At the Head Table, during Dinner, Albus sat eating his evening meal, contemplating. The school was still abuzz about the events of the previous day, and he reasoned, would be that way for some time.

McGonagall had come into his office later in the day, after the Task, and after getting Harry settled in at Gryffindor Tower, and had inquired as to why he had gone into the tent after the Task. A valid question, and one he’d prepared for. He knew he couldn’t outright lie to her, as she’d more than likely see right through it, so he’d done the next best thing, and gone with a half-truth. Not an outright lie, but not exactly the full truth either.

_~ Flashback ~_

“Ah, Minerva, what can I do for you?” Albus said, as his Second walked in, a frown on her face.

“Albus, I want to know what you thought you were doing going into that tent today. It was highly irregular.”

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.

“It was my prerogative. As the Headmaster of the Hosting School, I was merely checking on the wellbeing of the Champions, not in my capacity as a Judge, but as a Headmaster, especially since one of said Champions had just done something no-one in recorded history has ever seen before. There is precedent for it, I’m sure.” That wasn’t _completely_ true, while it was his prerogative to visit the medical tent after an event, as the Headmaster of the Hosting school, he _hadn’t_ been interested in the wellbeing of _all_ the Champions, just one. And he had _actually_ gone to the tent to find out exactly how Harry had done what he’d done, it wasn’t until he was right outside the flap that he’d heard Poppy’s diagnosis and he’d panicked.

“I cleared this with Igor and Olympe before I approached the tent.”

That was a lie of course, he hadn’t. He’d used a clever bit of spell work to make sure they didn’t notice him heading in the direction of the tent.

Minerva raised an eyebrow, it was clear by her expression that she didn’t fully believe him, and he mentally sighed.

“Fine then, what about Mister Potter’s summer months? How are you going to make sure he’s taken care of, since you’re so insistent on him going back to…_those_ people?” Minerva asked.

Albus paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts.

“You may have noticed those devices I have on my shelf over there? Each one is keyed to the wards that protect #4 Privet Drive, as well as Harry himself, so I can monitor his wellbeing. Yes, I know what you’re going to say, those are not fool-proof, which is why I've also had a former member of the Order watching the house since the Christmas of 81.”

Minerva blinked. That was news to her. “Who?”

“Arabella Figg. She’s in #12 Privet Drive, right across the street from #4.”

_~ Flashback ends ~_

He thought more about that conversation. After the revelation about Arabella watching Harry all this time, Minerva had seemed irritated, as if she were contemplating on asking how the woman could have missed the years of abuse he’d clearly been suffering. He was aware of that of course, but it was an unfortunate necessary evil, if Harry was living in the Magical World, and word got out, as it would, that address would quickly become known and targeted.

He’d lost count of how much mail he’d had to intercept over the years, and not all of it had been kind, some of it had been downright _deadly._ Letters and parcels with portkey charms on the letters that would trigger as soon as the envelopes were opened or parcels unwrapped. Curses and jinxes and dangerous potions, you named it, it was there, on some of the mail.

After Minerva had calmed down somewhat, she’d then brought up another topic that had worn on his patience.

Draco Malfoy.

She’d _demanded_ that he expel the Malfoy Heir and call in Amelia Bones and have him arrested for using a borderline Unforgivable Curse and Attempted Line Assassination. Saying that if he didn’t, he ran the risk of Draco doing something like that again, or worse.

And if he did, _she_ would call in Amelia.

He’d put his foot down at that. Technically, as Headmaster, he was the only one who could call in the DMLE, the only time the Deputy Head could do it, was if he were out of the castle or otherwise indisposed.

He could not allow Draco to be expelled, that would set him on the path to Voldemort. The same path his father had taken.

He knew Voldemort was still out there, it was only a matter of time before he resurfaced, and the last thing they needed was Riddle being handed new recruits on a plate in the form of expelled, disgruntled students.

So he had denied her demands, and had said that the punishments he’d already handed out should be enough of a deterrent.

She’d scoffed at that, her expression making it seem she was bout to blow her fuse.

_“Point Deductions, Detentions, being banned from the Ball and losing his Candidacy as a Prefect is _NOT_ enough!” _She’d argued, getting angry. But he’d held his ground.

She’d huffed, then turned and stormed out, pausing just long enough to tell him that she was certain Draco would act up again, and if he did, she would do what needed to be done.

Just before she’d left, he’d asked her to give him the book she’d confiscated, so he could look through it for information on the Curse, she’d begrudgingly agreed, then left, returning a few moments later with the book.

-=-=-=-

In the Room of Requirement, Harry sighed as he basked in the warm afterglow of both his second climax, and the warm feeling he got after a ‘feeding’. This was the first time that he and Hermione had gone multiple rounds in a single session. He kissed his girlfriend’s head as she nuzzled against him, her naked warm and soft body moulded perfectly to his own as he wrapped an arm around her, a thin sheen of sweat covering them both.

Harry would have been perfectly content to spend the night on the lush 4 meter wide bed that Hermione had conjured when she’d literally dragged him in through the door, and before he’d even known what was happening, she’d started tearing his clothes off, almost _frantically,_ before pushing him to the bed and climbing onto the bed, lifting her skirt, showing she wasn’t wearing knickers beneath it, and pushing her hips back towards him and _ordering_ him to attend her by saying _“Harry James Potter, get on this bed and EAT ME!”_

In that position, on all fours with her skirt round her waist, her bum thrust back at him and her legs spread wide, she’d looked _very_ inviting, and, if he were honest with himself, so had her butt. He’d briefly thought of paying some attention to that, but decided against it, as he wasn’t sure yet how she’d react. So he’d stripped, climbed onto the large circular bed, laid down behind her and given her what she’d wanted.

After her first climax, she’d turned around and _pounced_ on him, using her wand to remove the rest of her clothes.

Then they’d sixty-nined, though it she hadn’t been as aggressive second time round.

Now they lay together, just enjoying the warmth they both felt.

Part of him started to wonder what it would be like to adopt a nudist/naturist lifestyle, sure, there was nothing inherently sexual about it, but a body as beautiful as his new girlfriend’s deserved to be fully kissed by the full light of the sun.

_‘Speaking of kissing her full body…’_ he thought as an idea struck him.

“Harry…” Hermione said, her voice quiet. He looked down, she seemed very nervous suddenly.

“Hmm?”

“There’s…something I need to tell you.”

“Yes?” He whispered into her hair, running his hands slowly down her back to gently caress the firm cheeks of her bum. She really did have a nice bum.

“A couple of days ago, after our little session in that corridor where I was rather persistent…well, later that day, I went to the Library and ran into Viktor Krum…”

Harry raised an eyebrow, he remembered that day, he’d been surprised that she’d been so adamant, that he’d been nicely surprised at her enthusiasm. Had that really been Tuesday? He and Hermione had had so much sex, yes oral still counted, that he couldn’t quite remember.

“Oh really? How’d that go? Was he still getting your name wrong?” He asked, smiling with amusement despite himself, he knew he shouldn’t find it funny, but he couldn’t help it.

Hermione nodded, smiling a little herself, then forged ahead. “It went…ok I guess. Not much happened, though I did urm…’feed’ from him in the Restricted Section.”

Harry looked down at her, as she turned her head to look up at him, her eyes full of emotions he wasn’t sure he could place.

“Really? You must have been really worked up then.”

“You’re not mad?”

“Why would I be mad? You needed to feed.”

“Well, I AM your girlfriend, and I just basically admitted that I gave some other guy head only a short time after giving you some. Worse, I promised him a second round at a later date, obviously that can’t happen now. But there’s also the issue of how that would make me look if rumours started going around, the last thing I want to be seen as is a whore, which is exactly what Draco wants to happen. When it eventually gets out that I’m your girlfriend, the last thing I want is people thinking I can’t be faithful.”

Harry paused and thought for a moment. A slight frown creasing his face. Yes, a small, very small part of him was jealous, but, his rational mind reasoned that Hermione had needed to do what she did, and he hadn’t been present. He knew he couldn’t always be there for her, just like she couldn’t and wouldn’t always be there for him, though they would both try.

By that same token, could he feed from other girls during her cycle, without feeling any guilt over it? Without feeling like he was cheating on Hermione in some way? He didn’t have an answer.

_‘I’m sure I’ll find some way to manage.’_ He thought.

“I’ll just have to tell him that the second round I promised isn’t going to happen. Hopefully he’ll understand.” Hermione said as she snuggled against him, sighing as Harry’s left hand trailed slowly down her back.

“Good idea, just let him down gently.” Harry said. Hermione nodded.

“You sure you’re not upset?” She asked, looking up at him, her brown eyes filled with affection and a little trepidation. Harry smiled and leaned in, planting a small kiss on her temple.

“I’m sure. If this had happened _after_ we’d agreed to be together, I would have been a little more upset, but I understand why you did it, and that it wasn’t entirely of your own choice.”

Hermione smiled as she felt a warmth swell within her chest, and she leaned forward to kiss him, her arms going around his neck as she pressed her breasts to his chest. Their eyes closed and they both moaned as their tongues started to dance.

“I love you.” She whispered, her eyes half lidded and filled with love and adoration. _‘I really don’t deserve him.’_

“I love you too, ‘Mione.”

“Hmm…I like that.” She whispered again. She then giggled as she felt his hand caress her ass again. “That tickles!”

Harry chuckled as Hermione straddled him and he cradled her face with his right hand.

“Oh? You mean…_this?_” He whispered, as he slowly brushed his fingers over the firm mounds of her butt, gently and slowly wiggling his fingers against her skin, paying particular attention to the valley between them, though he couldn’t get his finger in too far. Hermione giggled again and wiggled her hips then brought her knees up until she was putting her weight on her feet, her knees by her chest, which allowed his middle and index fingers to go deeper. He felt her stiffen, as she gasped, then she lowered her knees again, until she was once again kneeling, trapping his questing fingers.

_“Yeeesss……”_ she breathed.

Harry chuckled. “What can I say Hermione Granger, you have a _very_ nice bum.”

“Oh? So you’re an arse man, are you?” She asked as she started to run her hands over his chest, tracing the faint lines of muscle built up over years of Quidditch practice.

_‘Who’d have thought riding a broom would be considered good exercise?’_ she thought. _‘Then again, it could be just all the running round the castle we do.’_

“I guess so, I mean, I’ve been within kissing distance of it quite a lot over the past week, and I even _have_ kissed it once, and you seemed to like it.”

“Hm…I did.” Hermione purred, them she smirked as she felt something start to harden against her stomach. “And let me just say, Harry Potter, you have a _very _nice dick.”

“You mean this one?” He asked, clenching his muscles, making his shaft twitch against her, she hummed and pressed down against him.

“Yes, _that_ one.”

“Good, ‘cause it’s the only one I’ve got. Can’t exactly trade it in for something bigger.” Harry quipped.

Hermione rolled her eyes. By Morgana, she wanted him _inside_ her! She wanted to feel that part of him that was so gloriously _male_ filling her in a way nothing else ever had. To feel it swell and throb as he thrust it deep into her, she wanted to feel him _come_ inside her. She even wanted to feel her belly swelling with a growing baby inside her.

She paused, blinking. _‘Again? Why am I thinking about that now? I’m nowhere near ready to be a mum. Though it would be nice…one day.’_

But she wasn’t ready for that yet, and from what she’d read about the Bond, having intercourse too early, before it was fully formed, could have unexpected side effects, though what, it didn’t say. But that was just the regular Bonding, not taking any extra modifiers, like this damned curse into account. She also wasn’t sure if anal sex counted, though she wasn’t quite comfortable with the idea of that just yet. While she did enjoy his fingers back there, she wasn’t sure she was ready for something as thick as his shaft back there.

_‘Although, this coming week, I'll probably be so horny I won’t care.’_ She thought.

“I’m surprised you…want another round…what would that make? Four for you, three for me?” Harry asked as he moved both his hands up to cup and gently massage her breasts, tracing his fingers over her hard nipples.

She nodded as she shifted, then reached down as she raised up, taking hold of his shaft, she ever so gently slid back his foreskin, exposing his sensitive glans, which she started to rub slowly and sensually through her vulva, pressing the crown against her hard clit as she started to rock her hips.

“Actually, three for both of us.” She replied, as she sighed with pleasure then stiffened, letting out a gasp as she positioned his tip at her entrance and pressed down a little, pressing the head of his penis a little way inside her vagina.

She arched her back, her eyes going wide at the sensation. Through sheer force of will, she managed to stop herself from slamming down on him and _impaling_ herself.

“Holy shit…” she gasped.

“Merlin, that feels tight!” Harry said, his body tensing at the truly fantastic sensations on the tip of his shaft. He looked down, watching as Hermione pulled his shaft out of her vulva with a keening whine, the glans dark red with blood, and glistening wet with her sweet juices.

Her lips were swollen, dark reddish pink, her inner lips also visible, and at the top of her slit, he could see the hard little nub of her erect clitoris, also shining with wetness as Hermione pushed his shaft down against his body, then sat down on it with enough force to make them both grunt.

He could _smell_ her too, the air was thick with the scent of sex, the thick, heady and sweet scent of Hermione, and if he was honest with himself, he’d never smelled anything more gorgeous, more _delicious_.

_“God_ Harry, I want this beautiful dick _inside me!_ I never realised just how _thick_ you were…it’s gonna feel _soooo_ good when I eventually get you inside me.”

Harry nodded. He knew she was tight; she’d felt tight on his fingers the few times he’d gently probed with them.

“Like I said, I’m surprised you wanted another round.”

“Heh…get used to it. This is what I was like during my period before the Curse, now, well, I’m honestly worried how…_ugh…oh yeah!_ How I’m going to concentrate on my class-classes!” Hermione gasped as she started to grind her labia against the underside of his shaft, grunting every time her hard clit pressed against and moved along the underside of his shaft.

Harry then gently pulled her down until she was laying on top of him, as she stared into his green eyes, her own dilated pupils so wide her irises almost gone. Their noses bumped, then their lips met in a passionate kiss, and their tongues started duelling. He wrapped his arms around her in a tight, loving embrace, and gently squeezed, pulling her full weight down on himself.

She moaned into his mouth and started grinding against him with a bit more aggression.

When they broke the kiss, Hermione started lavishing attention on his face, ears and neck, pressing her lips against the beating pulse in his neck as she mewled in pleasure.

As he started to kiss her neck in return, he changed his focus from her neck to her face, and to her ears, which he gently started to lick, making her giggle. He held her tighter as she shook with laughter at his actions. Then he put his mouth on her neck, formed a tight seal with his lips, and _bit_.

“Aaah! _Aooohhh! Mmmph!_” Hermione gasped as she pressed her lips to the base of _his_ neck, breathing heavily, she delivered a firm bite of her own.

Harry grunted and moaned as he thrust his hips up in response, pressing Hermione pressed her clit against him with a particularly forceful thrust.

Then, in a move that made her squeak in a very cute way, he suddenly tightened his grip on her again, then _rolled._ He didn’t stop until she was on her back, then he pulled back, kissing her mouth once more as they gazed into each other’s eyes, then he started kissing down her front.

Starting with her collarbone, he took a moment to admire the rather nice and vivid love-bite he’d just given her. She’d need a glammur charm to hide that, assuming she wanted to. Tracing his tongue over her collarbone, he felt her shiver as he moved down, and started to slowly lick her left breast, hissing in Parseltongue as he did.

“Ooohhh…_Haaarrrryyy!_” she keened as her head fell to one side.

-=-=-=-

Sometime later, they both lay, sated and spent, at the centre of the bed.

“Consider that a preview of things to come this week, _lover_.” She said, before leaning down to kiss him. When she pulled back, he smiled.

“This is what you were normally like…before?” Harry asked.

“During the peak of my cycle, yeah…just not quite so…_intense…_during the build-up, I usually did get a little more antsy, have some cramps and maybe some moodiness, but nothing like…_this…_which is why I think this is the Curse…” Hermione replied.

“So…during your period next week…” Harry asked.

“I think, there will be a high possibility of me probably going _crazy_ for sex…_desperate_ even. I might even _beg _for you to _Shag. My. Brains. Out._ Hell, I might even wind up ambushing Daphne, Susan, Luna or one of my dormmates, even though I’m not into girls, I might get so horny, I won’t _care _if they’re girls.”

Harry raised an eyebrow, as he tried to will himself not to get hard _again_, thinking about his gorgeous girlfriend getting _friendly_ with another girl. His wholly male brain did see the attraction of course, though it did confuse him as to _why_ he, and he assumed most straight boys, found the idea of two girls having sex so hot. Maybe it was a curiosity of how exactly it…well,…_worked_. Then another thought occurred to him.

How would the curse affect him? Especially if he were in a position where he had no choice but to feed from other girls, could he stop himself from going too far? From doing something they wouldn’t want him to do, or worse, that he wouldn’t normally do with anyone but Hermione? If any of them offered to give him a blowjob or a handjob after feeding him, would he have the mental capacity to resist and say no?

Or would his lust override his judgement? Would he be overcome by his hormones and base instincts when confronted with a half-naked female, the curse and the situation, and as a result, be unable to stop himself from taking advantage of those offering to help him? What if some of them tried to take advantage of _him?_ And although that seemed unlikely, it was suddenly a concern for him.

What if…merlin forbid, one of the girls was _Ginny?_

That latent thought drew his mind to the two youngest Weasleys. Ron _still_ hadn’t apologized for the whole _“You cheated!”_ thing, and after his and Hermione's talk in the common room with the rest of their house, Ron and Ginny’s reactions at first, hadn’t been that drastic. Sure, they’d been shocked, just like everyone else, though that was more to do with the details about the curse and what it required of them.

Even during that impromptu party Gryffindor had thrown, the two of them had been lukewarm to them at best, almost cordial.

That morning though, when they were leaving for breakfast, Harry had caught sight of the two talking quietly, and they’d stopped when he’d approached, and looked at him.

With the revelation that he and Hermione had been effectively a couple for almost a week before telling them, well, he hadn’t missed the furiously jealous look in Ron’s eyes. There had been a look in them he honestly hadn’t liked, though it had been very brief. Clearly Ron was learning to hide his jealously, at least to some extent. Unless he was around Malfoy.

Ginny had looked momentarily heart-broken, until she’d realized who was approaching and quickly schooled herself. When Hermione had appeared, an incredibly brief, so brief he almost missed it, look of jealousy, anger and resentment came over her face, that now that he thought about it, made him concerned.

He’d have to watch them, carefully, and he’d have to tell Hermione to be mindful of Ron. And if Ginny did come to him during the coming week, he’s just have to refuse her offers. He just hoped she wouldn’t be too persistent.

Deciding to put the two youngest Weasleys out of his mind for the moment, he focused on Hermione and asked something else that had come to mind.

“So what will happen while the Bond is…forming?” Harry asked while he slowly sat up next to her, then straddled her hips, his semi-erection resting against her bum as he leaned forward and started to gently massage her shoulders and back.

“Urm…from what Pomfrey told me, when I asked her about it, for reference against what I read in that red book…normally, it would take about a year to fully form if we stuck to the minimum required ‘sessions’, me giving you a blowjob and swallowing your cum 3 times a week which over time would bind my core to yours, with me starting to produce milk roughly nine months in, which you would have to drink to bind your core to mine. Over the period of those 9 months, the Bond would start to develop, starting with basic changes; first we’d…_mmm…oh yeah…_first we’d develop a sort of…_ugh_…empathic radar if you will…”

“Oh? And what will that do?” Harry asked as he gently pressed onto the flesh of her back.

“Basically…it’ll allow us to…_mmm…_sense each other, like…_oh yeah_…it’ll let each of us sense how the other is feeling, and where they are, not a precise location…just a general direction, at least until you get close, then it’ll become more precise. And later, when the Bond is more stable, or just after it’s finalised, that empathic link may turn psychic.” Hermione gasped the last word as his hands moved down and he scooted backwards, his shaft leaving the warm, soft mounds of her bum, which he took in hand and started to knead.

“So we’ll be able to talk in our heads?” he asked, idly letting a hand glide up over her back again.

“Yes, and there may be other benefits. Though I’m not sure what yet.” She replied, closing her eyes and smiling as she enjoyed the impromptu massage. “There are caveats though, as one would expect with soul bonds…”

“Like?” he asked, pausing his massage, but not taking his hands off her back.

“We may sometimes see or hear thoughts we wouldn’t want to from the other, at least, until we learn how to control what is shared. So at first, we may have trouble keeping things that we’d want to keep private to ourselves, well, to ourselves. There’s also another big concern. If one of the bonded pair were to die, there is a chance the other could die too from shock, and in the off chance they _don’t_, they’re left with severe mental and emotional damage.”

Harry thought, those were pretty big caveats, did he have the right to have that kind of impact on her life? No, he didn’t. But they’d already started bonding, and it wasn’t as if they could exactly _stop_ now_._ The only way to stop the bonding process was for the oral sex to stop, and that wasn’t possible in their case.

“How often was it like this before? And did you usually get so…_juicy?_” he asked, deciding to try a less grim subject.

She got a thoughtful look, “Usually only once, maybe twice, during the absolute peak of my cycle, but now? Thanks to this Curse? No way to know until it happens. One thing is for sure, I’m going to be horny as _hell_ probably for most of the week. As for my squirting? No, I didn’t start doing that until after the curse hit me. I think it’s another of the side-effects, intended to make sure you get a good feeding. Which is odd for a curse to do, so maybe it was part of the original spell’s design, I’m not sure. Just a lot of theorizing. No real way to prove anything.”

“When should we expect it to start?” Harry asked.

“Well, I’m not sure, probably Sunday at the earliest, Monday or Tuesday at the very latest, first indication will be menstrual bleeding though, and possibly cramps, I do get those too. So, for now, guess I’m wearing knickers to bed again. And of course, there is the highly emotional state I'll be in, and the potential moodiness. Don’t be surprised if I get insistent and…_demanding__._”

“And you still want me to feed from someone else during the week?” he asked as he leaned over and planted a few kisses on her shoulders while his hands travelled down her arms.

Neither of them knew yet if they could get what they needed from the _donations_ of other members of their own gender, or even their _own_ fluids, though Harry doubted that last one, and he wasn’t really in a hurry to try it if he was honest with himself.

Hermione hummed with bliss as she felt him start to massage her back again, his gorgeous, _delicious_ cock, at least in her biased opinion, now hard again, once again resting against her bum. She gave an impish grin as she wigged her buttocks against his shaft a little.

Their sleeping arrangements usually had him on his back, with her on top of him on her front, they hadn’t really spooned much, so she hadn’t had many opportunities to feel him against her ass over the last week, but if she were honest with herself, she _really_ liked the way his dick felt against her bum, soft or hard.

“Better not to risk you getting a mouth full of blood. This sort of thing can’t be timed, as it doesn’t work to a schedule. Sure, you might be fine and get lucky eating me out one time, but the next, you get a mouth full of blood, and I’m pretty sure you don’t want that, since nothing will kill the mood faster…other than you calling out a guy’s name when you cum.” She said with a smirk as she made a move to turn over and sit up.

“Oh _Merlin_ no!” Harry said, cringing as he sat up and reached for his own wand. Yeah, that would super _awkward._

“Aren’t there charms for that sort of thing?” he asked. She nodded as she sat up and started combing her fingers through her hair, her head back and breasts forward, and Harry took a few precious seconds to admire her natural beauty as she knelt there, letting him see everything.

“Yeah, but it’s only for keeping our knickers clean. The charm is applied to the fabric and vanishes away any material that meets them. And before you ask, no, there’s no charm to stop the blood coming out, like a reverse contraceptive charm or something. Those are placed at the cervix and are designed to stop matter flowing _into _the uterus, not out. Having something stopping the menstrual lining from coming out when it needs to would _not_ be good for me.”

She then crawled to the edge of the bed and bent to start retrieving her clothes which she tossed over the side of the bed as she closed her eyes, and Harry took another brief moment to fully admire her fully displayed bum and labia, before he felt a temporary sensation of vertigo as the Room _shifted_, and another door appeared along one of the walls. “So yes, I want you to accept any offers of help you get from Daphne, Susan, Luna and anyone else in our house who offers. And I will _not_ be happy with you if I find out you’ve been skipping Mister Potter!” she said, wagging a finger at him.

“Yes dear.” Harry said, as Hermione smiled and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

“Good boy, now come on, I just asked the Room to create a shower for us to use. Then when we get back to our quarters, you can write a letter to Sirius.”

-=-=-=-

** _Saturday, November 26, 1994._ **

** _Late morning_ ** **.**

Harry smiled to himself as he stood on the front lawn of the castle, watching many of the students playing in the new dusting of snow that had fallen the night before.

The first snow of the year.

He was still getting funny looks and even some awed looks now from some of the Beauxbatons students, particularly those who had an interest in exotic animals. A few had asked him how he’d done it, and he’d told them exactly what he’d done, that he hadn’t used Parseltongue, but yes, he could speak it, and no, it wasn’t a form of dark magic, it was just a language, like French.

He’d done as Hermione suggested, and sent Sirius a letter the night before, letting him know he was ok, and that he hadn’t said anything to Skeeter, and that the woman wouldn’t know hard facts even if someone beat her over the head with some. And he was honestly tempted to try next time he saw her.

He idly wondered how and why Rita hadn’t been let go by the Prophet by now. Or why they hadn’t been sued by people she’d slandered in the past.

_‘Then again, they probably have, but she’s probably their bread-winner, so they probably won’t let her go unless she’s arrested.’_ He thought.

His thoughts went back to the First Task, and he sighed in lamentation at the loss of his Firebolt, that was one thing he hadn’t wanted to put in a letter, but say in person. But since it was in the paper, he reasoned Sirius had already read it, and knew. Then he thought about his encounter with the Horntail.

Merlin, that really _had_ been reckless, and stupid.

If it hadn’t worked, she would have killed him, and Hermione, Remus and Sirius would have been devastated, and it would have been even worse for Hermione, as she would have had to find someone else to help her deal with the curse, and probably the only other boy she trusted _that_ much, was Neville, and _he_ was dating Hannah Abbot.

He thought about the dragon again, and something he’d seen briefly before turning his attention to the watching crowd during the task. He hadn’t mentioned it to anyone yet, but he’d noticed something about the Horntail that he had _not_ expected to see. He’d have to find some books on dragons or ask Hermione about it. He briefly thought about asking Hagrid, then decided not to, as his largest friend would probably turn red faced and clam up out of embarrassment. He couldn’t ask Charlie Weasley either, he didn’t even know the guy, and asking a question like that would be _awkward._

Then his thoughts went back to Hermione, and he smiled. He could always ask her about it. Yes, they’d both gotten lucky on Thursday, though he couldn’t help but wonder what she would have done had his hastily put together plan failed. Who would she have turned to? Would she have turned to anyone? She had mentioned to Neville and Hannah at the beginning of the week, then to some other boys who had approached her during that impromptu party, to offer their ‘help’ if she ever needed it, that Harry was her only choice now, since they were now a couple, and the only reason she was insisting on him accepting help from other girls during the upcoming week, was so there wouldn’t be any…_complications._

But…was that fair? Hermione had said that her time of the month was coming up, and she’d encouraged him to look elsewhere to get what he needed during that time, but, he reasoned, as he was now her boyfriend, then if he did anything with anyone else, then that would be cheating, wouldn’t it? And besides, she should be allowed a to get what she needed from someone she trusted if he was not available, as there was no guarantee he always would be. Sure, she’d had that one encounter with Viktor in the library, but that was before they’d agreed to be a couple.

_‘Besides, I can make do in the meantime, I mean, I could still feed from Hermione, no real reason why I can’t, I’d just have to be careful. And I know the books _say_ Pepper Up potions don’t work but…if I take enough…’_ He thought.

He once again thought his concerns that he’d had the day before in the Room of Requirement, about the coming week, and sighed. He’d just have to try and figure it out as he went along.

Then he smiled as he saw Professor Flitwick emerge from the front entrance of the castle, and raise his wand to stop several small snowballs that suddenly came his way, then with a flick, sent them flying back to the students that had thrown them, who giggled and laughed as they dived out of the way.

He thought about what would happen at the end of the school year if they didn’t figure out how to cure this damn thing before then.

“Well, Hermione said I can’t go back to the Dursleys, or I’d probably be dead in a week, and she’s right, I probably would be. Question is, would her parents really allow me to stay once they find out what’s going on?” He thought aloud.

“I don’t think they’d have a choice once they know the consequences. But I do think they may try to stop her returning to Hogwarts for fifth year.” Came a soft voice behind him.

Harry turned and saw Luna standing there, looking at him with her large owlish eyes.

“Er…hi Luna, how are you?” He asked, a little embarrassed at being caught thinking aloud.

“I’m ok.” She shrugged.

“So…you think Hermione’s parents really would be ok with us…ya know.” He asked.

Luna just blinked slowly at him, her gaze slightly unfocused in a way that unnerved him a little. “As I said, once they know the full situation, I think they may be more amicable, though don’t expect them to give you an easy time over it at first.”

Harry sighed. “You’ve got a point. I mean, how would your parents react to something like this?”

Luna tilted her head as she considered her answer. “Daddy would be very angry, possibly even declare a Blood Feud against which ever family who had inflicted the curse on me, but I’m not sure how well that would go.” Then she looked down, her expression and demeaner turning sad.

“My mum died on my nineth birthday. February 13. Four years ago.”

“Oh, uh, I’m sorry. What happened? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“She was a spell crafter. She was trying to create a spell that would stop the Killing Curse, that would stop death itself, but it didn’t work. I wasn’t in the room when it happened, as I wasn’t allowed in her lab, but I do remember her scream, then there was a loud bang, and I ran in and found her. She died in my arms.”

She sniffed, her eyes getting wet. Sighing with irritation at himself, Harry stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her in a hug, which she returned.

After a moment, he pulled back. He tried to imagine the reaction the elder Grangers would have, and none of the scenarios he came up with were very pleasant.

“What does your dad do exactly?” Harry asked.

Luna reached into her fur-lined school robes and pulled out what looked to him like a magazine, she handed it to him.

“He’s the owner and editor of _The_ _Quibbler_. A monthly magazine.”

Harry nodded, then remembered what he was saying about Hermione.

“I don’t even know if she’s written to her parents yet.” Then a thought occurred to him. “What exactly _is_ a Blood Feud anyway?”

“Basically, it’s a declaration of war between two families, as opposed to two nations. Politically, they would become opposed on pretty much everything, and any encounters between members of the two families have a much higher chance of turning violent, if one of the two’s political leanings is ‘Neutral’, neither Light or Dark, and the other is Dark for example, then the ‘Neutral’ family would then be considered Light orientated, as far as the Wizengamot would be concerned anyway. If there is any loss of life on either side, the ones responsible for taking that life have a lot more legal protection from persecution by the law, though there are exceptions. Adults cannot target the children of those they declared the Blood Feud with and get away with it, for example.”

Harry nodded in understanding, that made sense. “So, I could declare a Blood Feud with the Malfoys?”

“You…_could_, provided you were the Lord of your family, the family Head.” Luna said.

“But I’m the only Potter left.” Harry said.

“But you are still a minor and have not yet taken up the mantle and claimed your Lordship ring, which would be in your family vault at Gringotts.” Luna said, “Therefore, you cannot legally declare a Blood Feud against the Malfoys. Or anyone else.”

Harry sighed. “And Hermione’s parents can’t do it because they’re muggles.”

“Correct. There are also other matters involved with Feuds. For instance, the allies of the two warring families would put all of their support behind each one, both legally, practically and politically, which is why I say I’m not sure how well it would go if daddy called a Feud against someone on my behalf, since the Lovegood family does not have a lot of influence, and we do not have many friends to support us, apart from maybe the Weasleys, and they aren’t very influential either…” she trailed off, her expression going unfocused, like she’d just forgotten what she was saying.

“You do now.” Harry said. Luna looked at him, blinking owlishly. He decided to elaborate.

“You have the Greengrass Heiress and the Bones Heiress as your new friends, and now the Potter family, plus Hermione. Sure, there’s only one Potter, and I’m not very politics savvy, but if you ever need my help with anything, I’ll do what I can. Friends help each other after all.”

Luna’s smile was wide and genuine, her normally unfocused silver eyes looked at him intently, and Harry suddenly got the feeling he’d just been played, that he’d just unknowingly agreed to more than their conversation implied. “Yes, they do. And so will I. It’s nice to have friends.”

And with that, she leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on his right cheek, before turning and walking off, heading in the direction of some of the First years, using her wand to gather up some snow.

Harry watched her go, before he turned and walked off, stowing the magazine in his robes, not really heading in any direction, he’d read it later then give it back to her. He wished Sirius were there. Even as Padfoot, he figured his godfather would love playing in the snow. Then he found himself thinking about the Marauders, and how they became animagi, and he found himself wondering what it would be like to be one, and what his animal form might be.

He’d have to ask Sirius and Remus about it at some point.

It wasn’t long before he bumped into Viktor and Cedric, who were sat with a couple of their respective Quidditch team-mates on a warmed blanket.

“Hey Harry!” Cedric waved him over, and he soon found himself sitting with them.

“We were just going over his game during the World Cup.” Cedric said. Nodding, Harry smiled, nodding to Krum.

“I thought it was very impressive when you took that Bludger to the face and kept going. I got my arm broken by one two years ago, came off my Nimbus 2000, though I was only a few feet from the ground by then, so the arm was the most serious injury.”

Viktor smiled and nodded. “Ja, in professional competitive game, you have to stay on point, ignore all distraction, even injury. You had a Nimbus? Zose are good brooms. Vhat happen to it?”

Harry winced, as did Cedric. “It was destroyed last year, during our first game between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. We had a Dementor attack during the match, they invaded the stadium, Harry fell off his broom thanks to them, and it flew off towards the Whomping Willow.” Cedric pointed towards the distant giant tree. Krum and his friend turned to regard it. Krum was about to mention that there didn’t seem to be anything special about it, until one of its long, thin whip like branches suddenly swung up and tried to swipe at a passing bird, missing it by only a few inches.

“Zat is rather odd tree. You had Dementor attack? Vhy?” Krum’s friend asked. Harry opened his mouth to answer, but Cedric’s team-mate, Zacharias Smith, spoke up.

“Sirius Black tried to get into Hogwarts last year. The Dementors were posted as guards.”

“Guards?! Zose zings? At a _school_? Is your Minister mad?” Krum asked.

“More like Death Eater puppet.” Harry growled. Then he continued, “The Dementors seemed drawn to me for some reason, though I was able to learn the Patronus charm last year thanks to Professor Lupin.”

“You can cast a Patronus?” Cedric asked, looking impressed, as did Krum.

“Yeah, a Stag.”

“Wait, you can cast _corporeal?_” Cedric asked, his eyes going wide. He and Krum exchanged looks. Then Cedric looked back at Harry. “A corporeal _Patronus_ at Third year? Damn that’s impressive.”

Harry grinned at him, “Thanks, how about you guys?” Cedric shook his head, as did the other three.

“Mine just comes out as a cloud.” Cedric said.

“Ja, mine too.” Krum said, his friend nodded.

Cedric suddenly brightened up, he looked at Harry. “Hey, maybe you could teach us.”

Harry got a thoughtful look on his face…teaching to cast the Patronus, that might be doable.

“Maybe. There’s a room on the 7th floor, near Gryffindor Tower, opposite the tapestry of the dancing Trolls, it’s called the Room of Requirement, it can create anything you want it to, as long as it doesn’t break the laws of physics or magic.”

“What’s physics?” Cedric asked, Harry continued.

“That’s not important right now, basically, you open the room by walking back and forth in front of the tapestry three times, thinking about what you really want, then the door will open, and the room will be whatever you want. A bathroom, a swimming pool, a dueling arena, anything really. Hermione and I have been using it off and on for a week now for…various things.”

“Thanks for this Harry, does Fleur know yet?” Cedric asked.

Harry shook his head. “Haven’t found her to talk to her yet.”

“Could help us practice for Second or Zird tasks, once we know vhat zey are.” Krum said, nodding. Harry and Cedric also nodded. Then Krum looked at Harry.

“You und Herm-io-ne?” he asked, once again struggling with her name.

Harry winced, then nodded. _‘Guess she hasn’t had the chance to tell him yet…oh well.’_

“Uh…yeah, me and Hermione…um…Sorry Viktor.” He said, trying to offer a smile.

Viktor looked crestfallen, his friend patting him on the back and saying something in Bulgarian and smiling, trying to cheer him up. Viktor bowed his head, then then raised it, his eyes closed, he sucked in a deep breath, then let it out in a sigh, then he opened his eyes and looked at Harry.

“Zen I vill pursue her no-longer. You know her better.” He said, giving Harry a small salute.

Cedric grinned at him, “You and Granger?” Harry nodded, smiling, then Cedric turned to his team-mate and raised a hand.

“Pay up Smith.” He said with a grin.

His team-mate muttered a curse, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a Galleon. He looked at Harry and rolled his eyes as Cedric took the coin.

“Seriously Potter? You couldn’t have gone for someone like Lavender? Or one of your fangirls? Or one of the Patil twins? Or _both_ of them?”

Harry raised an eyebrow. Why in Merlin’s name would he go after _both_ the Patil twins? “The prospect of dating one of my ‘fangirls’ as you put it, not that I expect to have any left after this last month, is exactly why I _didn’t_ go for one of them.”

Krum nodded, giving Harry a sympathetic look. Cedric and Zacharias both snorted.

“You sure about that Potter? After that stunt you pulled with the Dragon, your female-only-fan-club has probably _doubled_ in size.” Cedric said, grinning.

“You guys were _betting_ one me and Hermione hooking up?” he asked. Cedric smiled as he pocketed the coin.

“Sort of. We had a bet going on among the Puffs how long it would take for you two to hook up considering you’ve been dancing around each other for years. My bet was you’d hook up before fifth year. Figured out your Egg clue yet?” Cedric asked, Harry and Krum shook their heads. Cedric sighed.

“Yeah, me neither. Tried opening the thing by prying the panels up. My ears are _still_ hurting from all that shrieking.”

“Well, if one of us figures it out, let the others know.” Harry said, the other two nodded.

-=-=-=-

Luna smiled as she walked back inside the castle after her brief talk with Harry. She had honestly been surprised, pleasantly so, about what had happened. She hadn’t expected him to formally offer a House Alliance so readily, and she was certain that he didn’t fully understand what that meant. Or what he had meant when he had said ‘_Friends_ _help_ _each other_.’

Well, she was just going to have to make sure she made good on that promise this coming week.

As she walked past the other students, who paid her no mind, many of them talking about this and that, she paused as a thought struck her.

Her housemates had left her alone most of the year so far.

The routine _‘misplacing’_ of her wand and clothes when she went to take a shower, and locking her out of the dorm to wander the halls naked in a towel, which happened every other night since a few months after she first started at Hogwarts, hadn’t really happened this year. She figured her housemates were too busy focusing on the Tournament. Which was fine by her.

When it had first started, she’d suspected the House Elves were responsible; being the diligent cleaning staff that they were. Now however, she knew that her roommates were taking her possessions, she just never bothered calling them out on it as it would be her word against theirs. Without them getting caught admitting to or doing it, Professor Flitwick wouldn’t do anything, as he was the kind of man who worked on _evidence_. Besides, if she reported them without clear evidence of their guilt, the possible repercussions that they could and most likely _would_ bring on her would be…unpleasant.

The Prefects had always been useless too.

Still, she had new friends now, she didn’t need her housemates. She blinked slowly as she thought of someone who had once been a very good friend…many years ago. Ginny Weasley. The two of them had been close until the start of their education at Hogwarts, then Ginny had been distant their whole first year, and never really reconnected the second year or after that. Worse, Ginny had taken to calling her “Loony Lovegood” just like everyone else, which caused Luna to distance herself from Ginny even more.

A flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she turned, to see a swarm of Wrackspurts, and she smiled. They’d been unusually absent lately, as had the other menagerie of creatures she usually saw, though Wrackspurts were the most common.

She followed them, idly she noted that they were leading her to the library. While Wrackspurts usually caused confusion in people, they also tended to guide her daily activities, and usually warned her when something was wrong. Though she hadn’t started to see any of the creatures until after her mother had passed.

It was the Wrackspurts that had guided her to the library when she’d first met Daphne and Susan, after all, the impression she got from them, was that it was very important that she meet the two girls when she did.

Eventually she found her way to the library, and found Hermione sitting at ‘her’ table, the one she usually sat at when working, or talking with her friends.

She noted that Hermione was reading a familiar looking red leather book, _‘The Magic of Making Love’_ along with several sheets of parchment covered in text and hand-written notes.

She also noticed that Hermione’s left arm was slightly blurred, and that her left hand was in her lap. A disillusionment charm. Easy to spot if you knew what to look for. She also took note of Hermione’s flushed face and slightly labored breathing, and it was easy for her to figure out what her brunette friend was doing.

_‘Oooh! That looks like fun.’_ Luna thought with a slight smile.

“Hello Hermione. Found anything interesting?”

Hermione looked up, smiling when she saw Luna, a rush of embarrassment running through her when she realized she’d nearly been caught masturbating, which she’d been doing since she sat down. It hadn’t relieved her pent up tension, but she’d thought to at least try. But what surprised her more, was the fact she didn’t stop when Luna sat down.

“Hello Luna, yes actually. I’m just going over some copied pages from the book Draco found. I’m also wondering what I’m going to tell my parents, since I don’t intend to let Harry stay with his relatives, because that would not be good for his health, or mine. I just don’t know what to say to them.”

Luna nodded, that was a problem. “The truth is often a good place to start.”

Hermione snorted. “Yeah, sure, _‘Dear mum and dad, sorry I haven’t been in touch lately, but I’ve had my hands kind of full dealing with the daily effects of a curse me and a close friend of mine were afflicted with. We basically have to give each other head 2 times a day at the very least or eventually die, and if he goes back to his magic-hating relatives, he _will_ die, so I’m going to have to bring him home with me. Yes we’re lovers. Yes he’s my boyfriend. Yes we’ve moved faster than what many could consider _normal_, but we had no choice. I need him alive, so _please_ do not murder him for getting his hands and tongue all over your daughter. Love, Hermione.’_ Yeah, that’ll go over _SO_ well…”

“Well, maybe if you don’t word it quite like that. What have you learned?” the blonde asked as she sat down.

“Honestly? Not much I didn’t already read I think…I remember reading that there is a chance that our bodies might ‘adjust’, and the number of feedings we have to do could decrease from once every 12 hours to once every 72, which would certainly help us in certain situations. Meaning, once we complete the Bond, there is a chance Harry and I will only need to feed at least once every three days, instead of at least twice a day, which while not a perfect solution, will make things easier for us in later years. The only real potential issues I see are what will we do if one of us ends up in St Mungo’s for an extended period, and what will we do when I eventually hit Menopause.”

She paused, looking over the copied pages from Draco's book.

“The other issue is my lactation.”

“What do you mean?” Luna asked, leaning in, so they could keep their voices down. Discretely Luna allowed a hand to slip into her lap and down the front of her skirt, into her knickers, where she idly started to stroke. This wasn’t something she usually did in public, but if Hermione was doing it, then surely it was ok? After all, wasn’t this just a form of female bonding?

“McGonagall said that the curse may affect how much I produce, and how often.” Hermione said, also leaning in.

“Would Harry be able to get what he needs from your milk while you’re on your cycle?” Luna asked.

Hermione paused, thinking. “I…don’t know, I guess it’s possible? We’ll just have to wait and see. And if it is, once I start producing, which could happen at _any_ time, then he won’t need to feed from anyone else.”

Luna nodded. Then she tilted her head slightly, idly slipping her middle finger between her labia, feeling her lips starting to get wet. “So still no trace of a permanent cure?”

Hermione shook her head as she slightly shuddered, biting her lips to hold back a moan as a small climax shot through her, then let out a frustrated sigh, both from the lack of new information she’d be able to find in the copied pages, which constituted several chapters from Draco’s book, and also from the fact she was _still_ rubbing her almost painfully sensitive clitoris, and although she’d just climaxed, she still felt like she hadn’t.

Although, the copied pages _did_ contain information on several other curses, some of which she hoped to use on Malfoy at some point, assuming the idiot was stupid enough to provoke her.

_‘I’m going to hate this week…I really hope my parents will understand why I’ll have to bring Harry home.’_

“No.” she huffed. “Don’t get me wrong, part of me, an admittedly big part of me, really enjoys it. I find it…dare I say…_fun_. It’s ironic. I think back to almost this time last week, and I was almost in _tears_ worrying how I’ll be able to cope with this, if I could _actually_ do it. And now?”

She snorted and shrugged, before continuing, gesticulating with her free hand as she talked.

“Now…I wonder what I was so worried about! I’ve gotten quite good at it, though I know I’m not perfect by any means, I’m sure there’s still a lot of technique I need to learn. Though Harry hasn’t complained yet.”

Hermione paused as she thought some more, then she smiled wistfully and chuckled as she continued, hoping her face wasn’t flushed too much, and hoping the other girl didn’t notice how horny she was. Though, she silently acknowledged, talking about giving her boyfriend blowjobs, and how much she enjoyed it, wasn’t helping either. “I think I might be addicted to him, I mean, I do love him, I have for years, I only just recently admitted it to him, but honestly? I think I also love _sucking_ him.”

She then giggled as a blush darkened her cheeks, and Luna smiled, blushing as well, though in Luna’s case, the blush was also from her index and middle finger gently pinching her clitoris, before she started stroking them back and forth along it, as she imagined what it would be like to suck Harry. She hoped she’d get the chance one day.

This was not the kind of conversation she’d expected to have, she never would have pictured Hermione as being so sexually frank in conversations, at least from what she’d heard around the school. But she was certainly enjoying it, and the mutual, if discrete, masturbation was also rather nice.

“And what I mean by ‘addicted’, we were eating sausages last night at dinner, and I wasn’t even _thinking_ about him, or the Bond, or the curse in general or _anything_ really, and yet, as soon as one of those sausage pieces touched my tongue, my fanny got so wet that I soaked my knickers straight through. Morgana, my nipples and clit could have cut diamonds!"

Luna blinked as she regarded her friend, her blush darkening even more. “That would be an interesting trick.”

Hermione snorted again, letting out a light laugh.

“Another thing I’ve realized I was worried about a week ago, that is pretty much a moot point now, was my worry that he would fight it. After our talk last Sunday, he’s actually quite into it. I think he enjoys it as much as I do. I don’t think he sees himself as a parasite, since with me, it’s a mutual thing, though I am a little concerned that he might if he’s feeding from others. Do you know what he tastes like?”

“No, I haven’t had the opportunity to suck his willy yet.” Luna said rather bluntly. Hermione smirked, as she tried not to laugh harder, though she did feel a little spark of jealously at the thought of Luna giving Harry a blowjob.

“No, I meant his semen. Chocolate Cauldron Cake. That’s what I taste every time he comes in my mouth. Every. Time. No trace of salty after-taste either. It was a little salty first time I did it, but that didn’t last.”

Luna nodded, “That is what the curse does, it changes your perception of taste.” Hermione nodded.

“It’s an incentive. An incentive to keep doing it. Since your diet affects how you taste, meat, dairy, that sort of thing, can make semen taste awful for example.”

Luna blinked, “I did not know that. I guess that would explain the taste change.”

Hermione nodded. “That only applies to the Curse though. For anyone undergoing a _normal _Bonding, they’d still have that issue.”

Then Luna perked up.

“Have you tried skipping meals?” Luna asked with a slight pant.

“What do you mean?” Hermione asked.

“Well, think about it, you eat and eat and eat, but you don’t feel the benefits of that, not until you swallow his sperm. Have you tried skipping any meals to see if that has any effect? To see if you can survive purely on what you get from each other?”

Hermione shook her head, also starting to pant as she continued to work her hand, silently wishing that her arousal would go down, and at the same time, wondering idly why she hadn’t stopped yet. “How would that work? Our bodies process the food we eat and store all the nutrients, which are then absorbed when we feed.”

“_OR_, you pass those same nutrients to each other when you feed.” Luna proposed. Hermione thought for a moment, then shook her head again.

“N—No, that doesn’t make sense. If it worked like that, we’d never get what we need feeding from anyone _other_ than each other. Any single victim would die of starvation, no matter how much oral they tried giving. So no, we wouldn’t be able to survive just on bodily fluids alone.” Hermione said, looking over some of the notes she’d made, or at least tried to as she started to wiggle her hips in discomfort.

She then started chewing on her quill. “While there aren’t any accounts of this being used in the last few hundred years at least, I was able to copy the details from the first book we found, the one Draco used, and that described how most of the victims of this curse were women, witches, and it was used in the formation of the first harems, which fits what Parvati told us on Thursday, when she said she’d heard of it being used in ancient India. Obviously, the spell became widespread enough to become known before the side-effects were fully documented and realized. Although how _that_ could have happened is beyond me.”

“It’s an unfortunate thing, but most Pure-Bloods, especially back then, lacked any form of common sense. Someone probably heard about the spell and thought _‘Oh! A new spell that encourages performing oral sex! I’d love to try that with the missus!_’ or _‘A spell to accelerate the Bonding process? Great! That means we don’t have to wait a year!’ _but never considered, or worse, ignored any negative effects. Or the ones casting the spells to form those harems just didn’t care about the wellbeing of the women they trapped.” She paused and considered.

“That also raises a theory as to why it fell out of favor and became considered a curse.”

“What do you mean?” Hermione asked.

“Think about it. You have a daughter and she’s cursed with this by a rival or spiteful ex lover, you hunt down and kill the one responsible when you find out, only to realize too late what that would mean, and you’re unable or unwilling to give her what she needs, and she dies. I imagine it would quickly fall out of favor once word got around what it could be used for, and what families could lose.” Luna said.

Then she added “And the _‘Kiss_ _of_ _The_ _Succubus’_ name?”

“Emerged several decades after the spell was created, and came about because of the women who were subjected to it, were said to have been _kissed_ by a Succubus, and so took on some of their traits, surviving purely on sex, becoming experts and performing oral, for example.”

Luna tilted her head and blinked again, then she smiled a little in a sort of serene way, as she watched a small cluster of Wrackspurts flitter about Hermione's head. She then closed her eyes and, deciding to up the ante a little, placed her middle finger at her entrance and pushed in, sucking in a breath. She then began to move her finger in and out rapidly. She opened her eyes again and looked at Hermione as she felt her body start to tense up and her skin started to tingle. Her free hand discretely moved up to cup a small breast, feeling how sensitive it was, and how her nipple was already hardening.

“Do _you_ consider yourself an expert?” she said with slightly labored breaths, she wondered if she looked as horny as she felt, Hermione sure did. She also wondered if the older girl had realized what she was doing yet.

“Hardly. I’ve only been doing it a week, as I said before, my technique is probably far from perfect, but Harry hasn’t complained yet.” Hermione said.

“I doubt he will. A boy is hardly going to complain when a girl is sucking on his _sausage_ like her life depends on it.” Luna replied, smiling slightly as she noticed Hermione stiffen and suck in a breath, her cheeks flushing red.

“_Luna!_ You did that on purpose!” Hermione scolded, as she felt her clit throb again, and a surge of moisture between her tightly clamped thighs. _‘I knew I shouldn’t have mentioned that sausage thing!’_ she thought.

Luna shrugged, looking innocent, then tilted her head, a slightly mischievous glint in her eyes. “Are you ok Hermione?”

“_No!_ I’m not ok! I’m _horny!_ And you’re not making it any easier for me!” Hermione growled.

“Oh. Sorry.” She said, completely unapologetic. “Has your cycle started yet?” she asked. Hermione shook her head.

“No, probably tomorrow or Monday, I’ll let you and anyone who wants to help him know, probably by memo or something. Though you wouldn’t know it considering what happened yesterday. I usually don’t get super horny until the peak of my cycle, about half way through it, but yesterday, I got so worked up while with him, I almost decided to throw caution to the winds, sit down on his dick and ride him until I was pregnant!”

“Would that be so bad?”

Hermione gave her a look. “Luna, I’m _15._ I’m too young to be a mum! My mum and dad would _MURDER _me if I came home pregnant! And they’d _definitely _kill Harry. Even if part of my mind didn’t care about that yesterday, or the other day when I thought about having his kids. Yes I know that’s a bit sudden and weird, but I know the one thing Harry wants above all is a family, since he doesn’t really have one anymore. And one day, I’d love to be the mother of that family. But NOT now.”

“You know you’re not supposed to have actual sex until the Bond is ready to be finalized, right? And you know what is required for the Bond to fully take effect?” Luna asked, her panting becoming more clear as she felt her face flush as her busy hand was now getting very wet. Hermione rolled her eyes and nodded.

“_Yes_ I know what is required. _Yes_ I know that we can’t have intercourse until we both feel the Bond is strong enough that it’ll take and stay strong, which, with this curse, could be anywhere between several months to several _weeks_ away! And _yes_, I know that in order for the Bond to actually finalize, Harry's sperm needs to enter my womb, so I can’t use a contraceptive charm. And he can’t use a condom. Hopefully, I’ll be able to use a contraceptive potion. I mean, I might get lucky and we do it on a day when I’m not on my cycle, but sperm can live for several days in the womb, so there’s still a risk there.” Hermione said, the last bit added as an afterthought.

“Have you decided yet on what you and Harry are doing to do during your cycle?” Luna asked, her face flushing as she felt her climax approach, she had to be careful, she didn’t want to finish too soon.

“Well, some of my housemates offered to help him out, and of course, there’s Susan’s, yours and Daphne's offers…” Hermione panted

“And how do you feel about that?” Luna asked, momentarily closing her eyes as a wave of pleasure washed over her as she gently ran her fingers through her wet lips. “How do you feel about Harry feeding from someone else?”

Hermione bit her lip to suppress another moan as she felt her own climax building again, she’d now started thrusting two of her fingers into herself, she was just glad she’d had the foresight to cast silencing and disillusionment charms on her lap first when she sat down, though she was starting to wish she’d also applied cooling charms to her clothes. Her body had gotten very warm, but not uncomfortably so, not yet.

Thinking carefully, she responded. “Hm…good question. I guess, I don’t really have a choice but to accept it do I? Though I’m not thrilled by the idea though, as his girlfriend. But I trust you, Daphne and…Su—Susan…I know you guys won’t try to make a move on him and try to Bond with him without telling him…And that’s assuming he even accepts any offers of help. I’m not sure he will, even though I made him promise, there is still a chance he’ll refuse out of guilt.”

“What if it was done under the scope of a House Alliance?” Luna asked breathlessly, her voice almost a squeak. “And what if someone else wanted to Bond with him? He _is_ the Boy-Who-Lived you know. I’m surprised no-one tried it before now. I’m honestly surprised he hasn’t had girls lining up to suck his willy.”

Hermione licked her lips as she took several deep breaths and closed her eyes, hoping _desperately_ that Luna didn’t realize what she was doing, she was so distracted by her _own_ actions, that she hadn’t yet fully noticed what was happening to the younger girl. “I suppose that would be ok, but he’s not in a House Alliance with anyone. And he’s Muggle-raised remember? If it hadn’t been for this Curse, he wouldn’t even _know_ about Bonding until next year, nor would anyone be allowed to start with him. As for now, well, I’ll make it clear he isn’t allowed to accept oral from anyone willing to help him, that way, no-one can trick him into a Bonding against his will.”

“He…is in…an Alliance…_now_.” Luna said faintly panting, letting out a slight groan. She was _SO _close!

“What?” Hermione asked, looking at her sharply, brows creasing in a frown, the fingers in her pussy stopping as she finally took notice of the sweat drenching her back, and of the look on Luna’s face. She would _definitely_ need a shower after this. _‘What’s wrong with her? Is she…’_

“I spoke to him outside earlier, he asked me how daddy would react if I had been cursed, I told him it would probably result in a Blood Feud between House Malfoy and Lovegood, but I also said that daddy wouldn’t fare so well, since our family does not have the political influence that the Malfoys have, nor do we have the allies to support us.” Then her breath hitched as her palm pressed against her hard clit and she nearly squeaked again, her body was now getting_ very _warm.

“Then Harry said we do now, he said that my family now has the full backing and support of House Potter. He was also worried about how your parents are going to react to the news of what has happened. You really should tell them…soon…”

Hermione stared at her in disbelief. _‘I don’t believe this…that idiot!’_

Then she sighed and rolled her eyes, face-palming.

“Of_ COURSE_ he did! UGH! That _Muttonhead!_ Does he ever think?! Does he even _realize_ what he agreed to? He has absolutely _no_ idea how politics in the Magical World works. I’m not saying I’m not happy he’s agreed to be your friend though Luna, but seriously, if he tries to get into a political fight with someone, it could go very badly.”

Luna smiled at her, “I don’t think he’s realized quite what he’s agreed to yet. But I’m sure he will soon.”

Hermione sighed. “I guess he will.” Then she smirked, turning the conversation back to its previous topic. “If he decides to use his Parseltongue on you, Daph or Susan, make sure to use silencing charms on whatever room you’re in.”

Luna smiled, remembering how she’d said she wanted to experience that “I’ll keep that in mind. Is it really that good?”

“Oh _Yes!_ You’ll see. I might not be an expert at oral, but when he uses Parseltongue, he’s a _natural_ at it.” Hermione said with a smirk, as she started to stroke herself again. _‘Come on damn it! If this doesn’t kill my arousal for a while, nothing will. I just hope Luna doesn’t realize what I’m doing. That would be so mortifying.’_

“You know, you could also feed from me if you ever need to. The offer I made at the beginning of the week is still good.” Luna replied. Hermione blushed, she hadn’t really given any consideration about that since Luna and the others had first mentioned it, even Susan's casual offers the previous Monday. Could she do it? Feed from one of her friends if Harry wasn’t available? Or even one of her dorm-mates? She wasn’t sure.

“I’ll……take it under consideration, though don’t be too disappointed if I say no. And it may take me some time to decide.”

“That’s fair.” Luna breathed as she felt her climax building, only moments away, she was almost there, and judging by the look on Hermione's face, so was she.

A thought then struck Hermione, but it was momentarily lost as she felt her second climax hit her, thanks to her hyper-stimulated libido, and she screwed her eyes shut as her body shuddered and she buried her fingers inside herself and ground her hips into her hand, a wave of pleasure and warmth flowing over her body and she felt her face and neck flush hotly, her body drenched in a thin sheen of sweat.

At that exact moment, Luna felt her own climax hit her, and she thrust her finger up inside herself, hitting and breaking her barrier, just as her orgasm hit. The pleasure of her climax helping to dull the pain of what she had just done, but she still let out a sharp gasp, her eyes screwing shut to stop a few tears of pain escaping, and her body shuddered as she let out a high pitched _“Mmmmph!”_

Panting, she opened her silver eyes to find Hermione staring at her wide-eyed, mouth hanging open in disbelief.

“Luna! Did you just…! Were you…? _Did you just _MASTURBATE?! In the_ Library?!_ And in front of _me?!_” Hermione asked, scandalized, embarrassed, and mortified.

Luna shrugged as she panted, pulling her wet hand up, her fingers covered in blood as she grabbed her wand and started cleaning her hand.

“So…did…you…” she countered, her voice slightly tired as she started to come down and she sagged in her chair.

“That’s _different!_ I didn’t really have a choice!” Hermione hissed, face burning.

Luna smiled as she opened her eyes and looked at her. “It was nice…though…”

Hermione stared at her for a few moments, blinking in shock. Her face glowing with embarrassment and arousal. She couldn’t _believe _what the younger girl had just done. At least _she _had an excuse! Sure, it was a poor one, but still. Had anyone else noticed? She thought she’d cast a strong enough disillusionment charm, but apparently not. A thought then occurred to her, and she tried to cool herself down, taking a moment to dry her hand.

“Is it even _possible_ for same-sex couples to fully Bond? Given what it takes to complete it?”

Luna looked thoughtful, wincing slightly as a twinge of pain shot through her hips, though it didn’t last. “I’m…erm…I’m not sure, that will require some more research.”

“Uh…right…” Hermione said taking a deep breath to steady her nerves as the reality of what she and Luna had just done together, even unknowingly on her part. _‘God, I can’t believe she did that!’_ she thought as she pushed herself up out of her chair, her legs a little shaky, and started packing away her things.

“I’ll…I’ll see you later, Luna. I need to go…take a shower.” Hermione said a little uncomfortably as she bade the other girl goodbye. _‘A _cold_ one.’_

“Ok, see you later Hermione. This was fun, we should do it again some time.” The blonde said smiling serenely, the thought that what she’d just done with Hermione was generally _not_ something that normal friends did together.

Hermione didn’t respond as she felt a blush heat her face again as she made her way to the library’s exit. She’d have to sit down with the girl later at some point and explain what they’d done was not what normal friends did together. Though given what she knew of the girl from others around the school, the things she’d heard, she wasn’t surprised Luna was so…socially awkward.

The poor girl had only one real friend when she first came to Hogwarts, and that had been Ginny, and that friendship had suffered greatly during their first year, thanks to that damn Diary, and from what she could tell, Ginny and Luna hadn’t really reconnected. And the only other interaction Luna had with the student body was, was being the subject of their collective scorn and ridicule.

She hadn’t gotten all the details, but Hermione was starting to get the impression that Luna had been _very_ naïve during her first years at the school and had paid for it.

_‘With so little positive social interaction with the other students, even in her own house, it’s no surprise she thought masturbating in public was perfectly fine.’_ Hermione thought.

-=-=-=-

** _Deputy Head’s office, that same time._ **

McGonagall paced in her office, thinking. She wanted answers, answers regarding Harry's treatment by his relatives, especially after everything she’d learned. And she knew the one place to get them.

With all the excitement of the First Task, she’d forgotten to question Albus about Harry's summer living arrangements, as she’d said she would do the previous weekend in the Hospital Wing. But, she’d finally asked him how he knew if Harry was being looked after, after confronting the Headmaster about his stunt in the medical tent. And he’d mentioned an old Order member had been watching the Dursley home for the last 13 or so years. He’d also gestured to a shelf which bore several simple looking devices that he claimed monitored the protections around Privet Drive, and Harry's wellbeing.

She turned, walked to the fireplace in her office, and grabbed the pot of Floo Powder. Idly, she wondered just how good those monitoring charms were, she doubted the Wards would survive the summer if Harry didn’t return to charge them, which would naturally alert Dumbledore the moment they failed, and would tip him off that Harry wasn’t where he should be.

While it was true that the fireplaces in the four House Comon Rooms, including the private Quarters, could receive Floo calls, but not make them, they also could not provide transit either. What was not known, was that the Floos in the Headmaster’s office and the Hospital Wing were not the only ones that could send and receive transit. The one in her office could as well, though it was something she used sparingly.

Turning, she threw the powder into the fireplace and it flared up, turning green.

“Number Twelve Privet Drive!” she called into the fireplace, she then stuck her head into the flames, closing her eyes so she wouldn’t be overcome by the vertigo. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes and found herself looking into a well-kept living room, a few cats were dotted around the room.

“Arabella? Are you home?” she called.

“Minerva?” came the voice of the Squib she wanted to talk to, and in from the kitchen, Arabella walked, wiping flour off her hands.

McGonagall smiled as she saw the woman. “May I come through Arabella?”

“Oh, of course Minie! I’ve just put some bread in the oven not too long ago.”

Minerva smiled and stepped through, brushing off her robes as she stepped clear of the fireplace.

Several of Arabella’s cats came up to her, obviously sensing the cat within her and started rubbing against her legs, purring loudly. She leaned over and stroked them gently in greeting, knowing just where they liked it best.

“Some tea Minerva dear?” Arabella asked.

“Please, thank you. That bread smells wonderful.”

Arabella smiled and headed into the kitchen to set the kettle to boil as Minerva sat down.

“So, to what do I owe the honor of this visit?”

Minerva closed her eyes sighing, this was going to be a long talk.

“I’m afraid it’s about young Harry. I’m not sure if you’ve read the _Prophet_, but he got entered into a magical tournament against his will. We’re still trying to figure out who, but it’s going slowly, but that’s not why I’m here. I’m here, because almost two weeks ago, he and one of his closest friends were cursed by another student.”

And with that, McGonagall told Arabella everything. When she was finished, the other woman had her hand over her heart and looked on the verge of either a fit of rage or tears.

“Oh! Those poor dears.” Figg said, before she got up to go check on the baking bread, Minerva following, offering to help her.

“I’m sorry Minerva, I wish I could help, but I honestly don’t know what I could do.”

“Couldn’t you give him and Miss Granger the time and privacy they’d need?” McGonagall asked. “Perhaps you could approach the Dursleys and propose that he stay with you, and then Miss Granger could come and stay.”

Arabella shook her head as she took the baking tray out of the oven, taking a deep breath of the freshly baked bread.

“No. Petunia and Vernon would never allow him to come here if they thought he actually enjoyed it. It’s one of the reasons I always made sure his visits here were so boring he’d grow to hate them. When what I _actually _wanted to do was shower him with all the love, affection and care that I knew he deserved and desperately needed but clearly never got from them. But I couldn’t. I also couldn’t tell him anything, Dumbledore’s orders. And you say this Hermione is a Muggle-born?”

Minerva nodded, Arabella sighed. “Then without a Floo connection, how would she even get here? And I’m sure her family wouldn’t let her stay here, unless they live locally, and I’m pretty sure they don’t.”

Minerva paused, that made sense. “No, they don’t. Didn’t you try telling Albus how they were treating him?

“Of course I did!” Arabella said defensively, “Multiple times! But he always insisted that since Petunia was Lily’s sister, she was Harry’s only family and so he _HAD_ to stay.”

“Tell me about them. What are the Dursleys like? I only saw them that one time back in 81.” Minerva asked.

“_Horrible_. And that’s putting it kindly. Vernon is _huge_, I don’t know how he hasn’t keeled over from a heart attack yet. Petunia is vindictive and spiteful, and a gossip monger, sticking her nose into others’ business, for any bit of information she can get. And their son…he’s just like his father. And he’s _mean._ I’ve seen the way he treats some of the local kids. And the way he’s treated poor Harry over the years, but I couldn’t do anything.”

“Harry said his uncle is more like an Elephant Seal than a man.” Minerva said. Arabella snorted with amusement, a smile tugging her lips.

“He isn’t wrong.”

McGonagall sighed in resignation, the beginnings of a plan to help the two already forming in her mind, if she couldn’t somehow arrange alternate accommodation, she just hoped she’d never have to use it, but if she did, she’d probably need help. She wasn’t looking forward to asking for that help.

The two women then spent some time just talking and catching up, soon though, McGonagall realized she’d have to return to Hogwarts.

“Well, it was a long shot asking, but I thought it was worth a try. Thank you Arabella, I’ll see what I can do. But don’t be surprised if Harry does not return to Privet Drive this summer. And if Dumbledore ever asks, just tell him everything is fine.” Minerva said, as she turned to head back to the living room.

“I will Minnie, and take some of this with you.” Arabella said, offering a piece of the freshly baked bread. McGonagall thanked her then stepped through, back into her office.

Sitting down at her desk, McGonagall looked down and contemplated the half-written letter to Hermione's parents, then decided to try and finish it, idly eating as she did so. All the while putting more thought into her Plan B, hoping it would work, while also hoping she wouldn’t have to use it, and that she could convince some of her colleagues to help her.

Had she been paying more attention to her surroundings, she might have noticed the book she’d confiscated, the one Daphne had stolen from Draco, _‘The Dark Arts of Sex Magic’_ was not on her desk where she’d left it after retrieving it from Dumbledore earlier that morning. it was gone…

-=-=-=-

** _Late afternoon, Library._ **

Hermione was once again back in the Library, this time working on her homework, a Charms essay.

She heard several whispers the other students suddenly pick up, and she sensed someone approaching her. She looked up, and saw it was Viktor Krum, who was looking a little sheepish. Hermione blushed, remembering the last time the two of them had met here, and mentally preparing herself for the conversation she was about to have, trying to figure out how to let him down gently.

“May I sit?” he asked. She nodded, doing her best to ignore the hushed whispers of the few around them. Seriously, didn’t these kids have homework to do?

Taking a deep breath, Hermione decided to break the ice.

“Listen, Viktor, about what happened last time…” she began, but he raised his hand and smiled at her kindly as he sat down.

“You need not explain. I come to tell you zat I know zat you und Harry are dating. He told me earlier. I am many zings, but I am no thief. I vill no longer try to court your affections.”

“Oh. Well, urm, that’s good, thank you. I was about to tell you I’d have to call off our prior arrangement.” She said with a smile. Viktor smiled somewhat.

“Ja. It vas…enjoyable, however unexpected. Zough it did surprise me. I usually do not allow such things from girls I do not know.”

Hermione blushed. “Yeah, sorry about that. But it won’t be happening again.”

Krum smiled and nodded. “Zat is fair.”

“So, how are you finding Hogwarts?” she asked.

“Interesting. Is good school, though layout can be confusing. At Durmstrang, stairs do not move.”

Hermione giggled, “Yeah, that can get annoying, but at least you get used to it, and they even have a pattern, so you can predict them.”

As the two of them settled down to talk and get to know one another, most of Krum’s ‘fangirls’ had dispersed, and neither of them noticed the four pairs of eyes watching them. Two pairs curious, one pair suspicious and jealous, and the last, calculating.

-=-=-=-

“What’s _he_ doing talking to Hermione?” Ron asked, scowling, Seamus and Dean were sat with him, Ron had been in the middle of trouncing Dean at Wizard’s Chess, _again_, when they noticed Krum come in and make his way over to Hermione. Ron had been watching her since he’d come in, she’d had her homework out so he’d not bothered to go near her, even though he _really_ wanted her to go over his homework, he knew the odds of that happening were low, especially since she spent all her time with _Harry_ now, along with a _Snake_ of all people, and a Puffer, and now, also, apparently _Loony_.

What had _happened?_ They used to be friends, why had Harry and Hermione side-lined him? He didn’t get it. To make things _worse_, Harry had _stolen_ Hermione from him, the girl he’d had his eye on and flirted with for _years_. He’d even told his mother about his interest in Hermione, that the two of them had been flirting back and forth for years, and now…

Part of him didn’t want to believe they had actually been cursed, part of him wanted to believe all of that in the Hospital Wing the previous week had all just been a ruse to allow them to get together behind his back.

Unfortunately, as much as he wanted to believe that to be true, he knew it wasn’t. He’d seen how bad they looked. Plus he doubted McGonagall would lie about something like that, she wasn’t Snape after all.

But what really burned him, what really ruffled his feathers and got his heckles up, was the apparent _‘treatment’_ for their new _condition._ Which, if what Hermione said was true, basically amounted to them Bonding. Or at least, for Hermione to do what was necessary to start the Bond, regardless of if it happened or not.

He scowled at the thought, his ears heating up as he looked at Hermione's face, focusing on her lips, and a treacherously curious part of his mind wondered just how recently those soft pink lips had been wrapped around Harry's cock. His eyes drifted down to her hips and again, that same part of him wondered how recently Harry's face had been there. He grit his teeth in seething jealousy.

It just was not _fair!_ Harry got everything! The fame. The money. The glory. The girl, and _now_, the blowjobs! _And_ all the pussy he could ever want to eat!

He vaguely recalled Hermione asking the girls in their house to ‘help’ Harry out this coming week, since she would be on her cycle, though Ron had no idea why that was an issue. That just meant that Harry would be getting even _more_ pussy! He also remembered what Ginny had said, and how he, Fred and George had cornered her afterwards and ‘encouraged’ her to leave Harry alone. If there was one thing he and his brothers ever agreed on this week, it was that Ginny would be the only girl in their house _not_ getting any, well, apart from the First and Second Years of course. The look of fury and defiance she’d sent their way every chance she got since had been ignored by all three of them.

He’d been reminding Ginny of that fact that morning when Harry had come into the Common Room, followed shortly after by Hermione.

“Leave off Ron, Hermione can talk to whoever she wants to.” Dean said, as he looked down at the chess board, contemplating his next move, only slightly irritated that his Queen was making out with one of the Bishops, while the King did nothing but just stand there and watch, bemused.

“Yeah,” Seamus said, “You’ve been in a weird mood since Thursday, since Harry and Hermione gave their little talk. What’s up with that?”

Ron clenched his jaw as he felt his ears heat up more.

“Ah, I think I see…” Seamus said, grinning as he sat back.

“What?” Dean asked. Seamus nodded towards Ron, who was still watching Hermione and Viktor talk.

“I don’t think it’s _Krum_ Ron is jealous of. I think it’s _Harry_.”

“Oh?” Dean asked. Seamus nodded.

“Yeah, think about it. Ron basically was going on and on since Halloween about how Harry cheated his way into the Tournament, which was of course not true, although none of us believed that at the time. That got him even more fame and notoriety, something Ronny here is sorely lacking. _Then_ Harry pulls that stunt with the Horntail, which is even _more_ fame to his name. Again, None For Ron. Now we find out that he’s basically been living every teenage boy’s dream for almost a week and a half and has been getting head at least three times a day from a girl who is also now apparently his _girlfriend_. And he’s been eating her out just as much. That’s two more things Ron isn’t getting! And let’s be honest, Granger isn’t exactly bad to look at. If you can ignore the whole ‘Bookworm’ thing. But hey, some guys, apparently Harry included, like the smart ones. And you know what they say about the brainy ones, right?”

He paused, taking a moment to look at the girl in question, then he continued.

“I mean, I never would have pegged her to be the type who would like giving head, hell, I thought she’d never want to date anyone, let along _Bond_ with anyone, even without this Curse they’re under being a factor. She always seemed to care more about books. Harry is one lucky bastard though, I bet she was a novice at first, unless there are books here on the subject. I overheard one of the girls once say they thought Hermione wouldn’t know what to do with a dick unless she read an instruction manual first. But I bet she’s getting _really _good at it now.”

He grinned then gestured to Ron, “I wonder what he finds more galling: the fact she willingly sucks Harry off every day, or that Harry saw her naked first.”

Ron’s head finally snapped around and he glared at the other two boys, who were grinning at him knowingly. A protest already on his tongue, but he forced it down, he knew he wouldn’t win an argument with these two.

“Well, neither of you are getting any either!”

“True.” Seamus said, “Sad but true, but there’s still hope for us.”

“And not me?” Ron asked.

Seamus snorted. “You? You sound like the Express pulling out of the station when you sleep, and you have the table manners of a troll. Any girl dating you would either have to either not care about your eating habits, and wear sound-proof earmuffs to bed, or have no sense of hearing at all.” He laughed.

Ron ground his teeth as he glared at his two dorm-mates.

“Hell, I bet Neville is even getting some. I saw Hannah drag him into a broom cupboard right after lunch today.” Dean said, grinning at the look of jealous fury on Ron’s face, which was slowly turning red. He really was just so easy to wind up.

“Who would you like to Bond with then, or at the very least date?” Seamus asked, looking at Dean.

The other boy shrugged, thinking carefully. “Brown maybe? Or Parvati? Maybe even Turpin, she is pretty cute.”

“Lisa Turpin? She’s Ravenclaw right?” Seamus asked.

“Yeah, our year.” Dean said, nodding.

“I think she’s seeing a Ravenclaw guy. Saw her last week giving a Ravenclaw boy some attention in an alcove near the Astronomy Tower, would have completely missed ‘em if he hadn’t moaned her name so loud. I looked over and there they were against a wall with her on her knees and his hands in her hair.”

Dean frowned, looking mildly disappointed, but then he shrugged. “Oh well then, plenty of other girls in the school, plus there’s also all those lovely girls that came over from France and Bulgaria.” He said, wiggling his eyebrows.

Ron scoffed. “Yeah right! You’ve got _zero_ chance with any of them! Especially Fleur.” He said, guessing who Dean was really referring to.

“Better chance than you!” Dean shot back with a snort.

“Oh yeah?” Ron huffed. “Tell ya what, I’ll ask her out to the Yule Ball, that’ll show you!”

Dean snorted again then looked at Seamus, who smirked and nodded.

“Fine then. Let’s make a bet. 5 Galleons says Fleur will _roast_ you _alive_ for the attempt.” He said.

Ron was about to nodded and offer his hand when Dean spoke up. “Better idea. If you can ask Fleur out to the Yule Ball, we’ll do your homework for you for the first term of the new year. And if you fail, you do ours.”

Seamus looked at him wide-eyed, face pale, his expression one of utter _horror._ Had his friend suddenly gone _insane?!_

Ron grinned evilly. “Deal!” then he extended his hand and the two shook while Seamus looked on dismay.

Grinning to himself, and feeling in a much better mood, Ron started packing away the Chess board, as the pieces had abandoned their positions and had been listening to the exchange, the game forgotten. He then stood, nodded to the two boys then left.

Once he was gone, Seamus gave Dean a stern look.

“Thomas you _FOOL! _You’ve doomed us _both!_”

“What do you mean?” Dean asked. “This’ll be _easy!_ You KNOW he’ll fail to ask her out, and that’s assuming she doesn’t fry him for even asking her.”

“_Exactly!_ Which means, _WHEN_ he fails, he’ll have to do OUR homework for the first term of next year! You know he doesn’t even do his OWN homework! He always twisted Granger’s arm until she did it _for_ him! I’m honestly wondering how long he’ll last now Granger and Potter have effectively turned their backs on him. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if he fails his OWLS in Fifth year! So what do you think will happen to _our_ grades?!” Seamus ask, horrified.

Dean’s dark complexion lightened several shades, his eyes widened as the enormity of his blunder hit home.

“Well…_bugger_.”

-=-=-=-

** _Sunday November 27, 1994_ **

** _Gryffindor Tower Third Year Girls’ Dorm, early morning._ **

Ginny lay in bed, one knee raised as a hand busily stroked between her legs, her fingers sliding through her wet lips, combing through the patch of dark red hair that covered them and the mound above. Her eyes closed as she breathed long and deep, licking her lips as she fantasized and imagined. Imagined the coming week, and what she would do. What she had planned since Thursday.

She tried to imagine what it would be like to have Harry in her mouth, to feel his hard cock sliding back and forth over her tongue, palette, cheeks and lips as she hungrily sucked. Tried to imagine what it would taste like, and what it would feel and taste like to have him cum in her mouth, and then how it would feel when she swallowed it, and started the Bonding.

She knew full well about that of course, had since summer. Her father hadn’t really approved of their mother telling her and Ron about it, he’d said they were too young to know, but their mother had just waved him off, saying _“They’re old enough to know what to expect and do Arthur, better they be prepared now rather than later.”_

Their father had begrudgingly accepted, though he had extracted a promise from the twins and Ron to make sure she didn’t try anything. Fortunately, it hadn’t been _binding_. So what they didn’t know about, wouldn’t get back to her father.

“Mmm…” Ginny moaned as she imagined what it would be like to pull Harry into an alcove somewhere, or a broom cupboard, and have him feed from her. She gasped lightly as a finger brushed her aching clit, and her other hand moved up under her nightie to cup a breast. She knew they weren’t much, barely there actually, but that didn’t matter. For now, that was not the part of her body Harry would need to see or focus on.

A Wizard could bond with more than one Witch, after all, so there was no reason why he couldn’t bond with her _and_ Hermione. If she played her cards right, she would probably be able to push Hermione out completely, especially if she started feeding from another Wizard, like Ron, to help mitigate the Curse, if Ginny understood the workings of it, then her place as the future Lady Potter would be assured.

She just had to get Harry's attention first, but she wouldn’t make her move until she knew for sure Hermione's cycle had started.

The Boy-Who-Lived would be hers.

Her mother had promised her that years ago.

All she had to do now, was get him.

-=-=-=-

** _Great Hall, early morning._ **

Hermione sat down at the Gryffindor Table and started to tuck into her cornflakes which she’d asked for.

She’d passed several pieces of parchment to several of her former dorm-mates on the way out of the Common Room, namely Parvati, Lavender and Fay, as well as to Susan and Luna when she entered the Hall, with a hushed reminder to Susan to let Daphne know when she got the chance, the girl had nodded.

Her cycle had started.

Though Harry had been able to feed from her while they took a shower, Hermione told him that the odds of him being able to do it without it getting messy were about 50/50.

She hadn’t noticed a change in her levels yet, though she had no idea how long it would take. As she turned to her fellow housemates and started talking to them, she missed the looks Ron and Ginny were giving her and Harry. As she ate her breakfast, she noticed her levels start to rise, and as she looked around at her house-mates and fellow students, she felt them start to spike as she looked at several people, both boys and girls.

She’d been staring at a Ravenclaw boy, Terry Boot, for nearly a full minute until Harry nudged her.

“Hey, you ok ‘Mione?” he asked quietly, a look of concern in his kind green eyes.

“Huh?” she asked, blinking and looking away from Boot, who hadn’t noticed she’d been staring at him. “Oh, uh, yeah, I’m fine Harry.” She said.

_‘What was THAT? Why was I staring at Terry like I wanted to eat him? It’s got to be the Curse affecting me, I didn’t think it would be this quick though…’_ she thought, as she looked over at Susan, just as the girl was stretching, her hands in the air and chest pushed out, and Hermione almost _moaned_ at the vision of beauty her redhead friend had suddenly become in her eyes.

Her gaze focused on Susan's lips, lips Hermione suddenly found she wanted to kiss, to feel on her own breasts…and speaking of breasts, Susan's were _beautiful_, large, easily D at least, double at most. And Hermione started to envision what they would look like bared to her, what they’d look like covered in honey or syrup, or even ice cream. For a moment, she even envisioned what they’d look like pressed together around Harry's penis, and she found herself licking her lips.

She then blinked, and her mind cleared, and she shook her head. _‘What the…?’_ she thought. Then she mentally sighed, and focused on her breakfast.

This was going to be a _long_ week.

-=-=-=-

At the Staff Table, Dumbledore smiled slightly as he carefully watched Hermione. Taking note of how she now stared at both Terry Boot for over a minute, and Susan Bones for almost as long. The stronger potion was working, and faster than he’d thought it would. Though he’d only told the Elves to dose her food this morning, as a test, they would dose Harry's tomorrow.

He’d been disappointed with the lack of results form the previous potion dosing and had decided to ask Severus to brew a stronger formula. He had to be careful though, to limit the dosage. He didn’t want to give them too much. He’d read the book Minerva had given him, and while the Curse was fascinating, he suspected that the one who created the original spell was certainly no master spell crafter. Resorting to a sterilization curse as a ‘cure’ was a drastic measure, and he reasoned, it would only have been listed as a cure if all other possible options had been investigated and dismissed, either right after the discovery of the negative side-effects, or later over time.

He certainly hadn’t heard of the curse before, there was no mention of it in the Private Library he had access to as the Headmaster, and he had no idea where this book had originally come from, there was no author named, which was expected, given the nature of the contents. There was no publication/completion date either. But considering what information there was on the curse in the book lead him to theorize that who ever wrote about it in the book had firsthand knowledge of the curse, either as a victim or witness to someone who was, or were descended from someone who had been a victim in antiquity, and the knowledge had been passed down as a warning, if the note on its history and plausible origin were any indication.

If there was _anyone_ within the country that had more information, it would be the Unspeakbles in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry. It was their job to discover things like this and study them. Though the research rarely, if _ever_ saw the light of day.

But one thing was clear: the spell’s creator had been an amateur. No professional spell crafter would make that kind of mistake with a spell.

Then again, magic _did_ behave in strange ways, it demanded balance in all things. If the spell’s creator had intended to create a spell that accelerated the Bonding but with no intended caveats, then it was possible, however slim the chance, that magic itself might have created the described caveats, though he was unsure if that was the case, since the creator was long dead, and therefore, unavailable for questioning.

He continued to regard Hermione carefully.

This was going to be an _interesting_ week.

-=-=-=-


	11. The Torment of Hermione Granger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning!
> 
> Hey folks, first off, I'm so sorry it took me so long to update. I have several reasons for the long delay.
> 
> First off, if you saw my latest update to my Scenes from a Hat collection, then you will know that on the 2nd of September this year, the CPU i bought for the pc i built back in July, a AMD 3900X, started to fail. It took several weeks (7) to identify the issue, RMAing the Motherboard (which came back OK), replacing the RAM and Power supply (both from an old system, the PSU was 8 years old and starting to fail as well.), and finally, replacing the CPU (which AMD was kind enough to ship). So I didn't get my system back up and running until late October.
> 
> I also switched to Scrivener a couple of months back, dropping Word as my primary writing app.
> 
> My other reason, is I just got distracted with another fandom, which I may also start posting stories for in the future. :P
> 
> But the update is here now, just in time for Christmas, thank you to all of you who have been patiently (or impatiently, lol) waiting for me to update. I hope you enjoy. I won't set a date for the next update (which is probably about 1/3 to 1/2 written already).
> 
> So until the next update, enjoy, and have a safe Merry Christmas and happy new year (and may the next one be far better than the shit show this one was) :)

**Chapter 11: The Torment of Hermione Granger**

_ **Sunday November 27, 1994.** _

_ **Mid-morning after breakfast, Hogwarts grounds.** _

Fleur Delacour hugged herself and shivered as she stood on the front lawn of Hogwarts, stepping away from the steps leading up into the Carriage. She had just finished a Floo call with her parents, in her quarters inside the Carriage. She’d already let them know on Thursday how the First Task had gone. Her parents had understandably been thrilled at her performance and had been impressed by what they’d heard of Harry Potter’s performance as well.

Her mother had also subtly asked if she’d spotted anyone she ‘liked’ yet. Fleur had to roll her eyes at that. Though she couldn’t really blame her mother for being that way. They were Veela after all. They were creatures of _passion._ Both inside the bedroom and outside of it. A higher than average sex drive and more open attitudes to sex, were all part of a Veela’s physical and psychological makeup. Veela, as a rule, were as comfortable talking about sex, in great detail, in casual conversations as most people were talking about the weather, or Quidditch.

Though that did present its fair share of problems. Her almost ethereal beauty for instance, that drew the eye of almost every red-blooded male human within visual range of her, and made the majority of _those_ behave like brainless idiots in a foolish, and _futile_ attempt to impress her. It had won her many enemies during her adolescent years, and had lost her just as many friends. That was not to say that she didn’t _have_ any friends left, she just didn’t have as many as she used to. Those she did have, if they had boyfriends, she hadn’t met them, and likely never would.

It was why she worried about little Gabby so. Gabrielle was only 8, but already her Veela nature was starting to manifest, though thankfully, since she hadn’t started to mature sexually, her Veela characteristics just made her look exceptionally cute. But once her sister hit puberty, and her Veela heritage really kicked in, she would be in for a few very rough years. Fortunately, she would have Fleur and her mother there to help, and maybe even their grandmother.

Though it still would be difficult.

Fleur hugged herself again against the cold as she started to walk across the grounds, taking note of the younger students milling about, playing in the new layer of snow, and ignoring the boys who tried to get her attention with foolish antics, some with their girlfriends present, who sent jealous, withering glares in Fleur’s direction. She’d seen it all before, so she ignored it.

Being creatures of fire, meant that they did not particularly like the cold, though that did not mean they couldn’t appreciate the natural beauty of winter snow.

Another thing Veela, as a rule, were not fond of, was being underwater, again, being creatures of both the air and fire, they did not like being submerged for long periods of time. Taking showers and baths was a necessary evil, so was easily tolerated. She looked out over the Black Lake and shuddered. From what she’d heard of this school, there was supposed be a giant squid in that lake, though it was apparently relatively tame.

And according to some rumours she’d heard, there was supposed to be a Merpeople settlement at the bottom of the lake. She shuddered again and turned away, heading in the opposite direction from the lake. She really hoped those rumours were not true. If they were…

Then she hoped the Second or Third tasks of this Tournament did _not_ have anything to do with that lake. Though she still hadn’t figured out how to open the egg.

It was beginning to frustrate her.

“_Fleur!”_ a high-pitched voice called, she turned, and barely managed to lean to the side to dodge the snowball that came flying at her.

She narrowed her blue eyes at the giggling form of her 8-year-old sister, who ducked behind a small snow covered rise with a group of First Year Hogwarts students. _The little imp…_

Quickly whipping out her wand, Fleur grinned as several of the First Years, her sister among them, poked their heads up over the rise, and several arms came up, each one holding a snowball, again, Gabby was among them. She was also the first to throw.

Fleur waited until the snowballs were almost to her, before she made a swish-flick motion with her wand, and the balls all did a U-turn in mid-flight and sailed back towards her now squealing and laughing attackers.

“You weel ‘ave to try better zan zat, non?” she called, smiling as they all tried to doge the snow, only a few of them managed it. “Next time, do not warn your target!” then she decided to be sporting, and put away her wand. Crouching, she scooped up some snow into her hands and made some snowballs, which she threw at the laughing First years, who eagerly returned fire, seeing she’d put away her wand.

As she played with the younger students and Gabrielle, Fleur thought about the other champions, and her own opinions on each of them.

Krum was famous, even in France as an international Quidditch star, though she had been a little weary of the Durmstrang students, as that Academy had a reputation. It was the school Gillert Grindelwald had graduated from, after all. The man who preceded Voldemort as Europe’s premiere Dark Lord. But Krum, she was finding, was nothing like the atypical Durmstrang student, he was rather kind, and apparently no stranger to dealing with the Press.

Fleur momentarily scowled, losing her focus and letting a snowball hit her, as her thoughts briefly turned to that…_woman…_Rita Skeeter…She couldn’t help but chuckle as she remembered what she’d said, and how the woman clearly had not understood a single syllable of what she’d said. As evidenced by the quoted “statement” in the paper the next day.

She couldn’t _believe_ they’d printed that in a frontpage article!

Then her thoughts turned to the other two champions, Cedric Diggory and Harry Potter.

Cedric seemed rather nice, he’d handled his dragon rather well, and she’d been impressed by his transfiguration work. She hadn’t spoken to any of the champions much over the past month. Something she aimed to try and correct. Though getting close to either Cedric or Krum would be difficult, with the gaggle of girls around them. Cedric in-particular seemed to already have a girlfriend, who sent Fleur warning looks every time the girl caught her looking in his direction. She sighed, it was the same everywhere.

Then her thoughts came to the last champion. The _fourth_ Champion. And wasn’t _that_ a first! How would they handle the final victory score if one of the two Hogwarts Champions and either her or Krum came in equal? There had never been a fourth contestant in the Tournament in its entire history, hence its name.

There had been some arguments among the Beauxbatons students the night of the Selection, after the fact, where several of her fellow students had argued that both they and Durmstrang should be allowed an extra Champion. Clearly their protests had fallen on deaf ears.

Harry Potter…she didn’t know much about him personally, though she had heard of him before coming to the school. She honestly doubted if there was a person in the magical world anywhere on Earth who had not heard of him.

And if she was honest with herself, she had not been impressed when she’d first met him when he’d entered that little side room after the choosing, only to announce, albeit reluctantly, that he had also been chosen.

She remembered being furious, as were the others. She’d even called him a _‘Leetle Boy!’_ when she’d addressed him.

Now though, she found herself re-evaluating him. His performance had been the most spectacular, the most unique, and had earned him the highest marks. Even Maxime had to begrudgingly admit she was impressed. Karkaroff though, she could tell he’d been _livid_ at Krum coming in last.

She had never heard of someone interacting with a dragon that way. Well, she’d never heard of anyone interacting with a dragon that way and _surviving_.

She’d also seen several of the other Hogwarts students wearing flashing badges, though she couldn’t really tell what they said, as her English wasn’t perfect, but she’d learned that Potter’s main rival among the students, Draco Malfoy, had created them.

Now that she thought about it, she’d heard rumour that Potter and one of his housemates had gotten into a scuffle with Malfoy a week before the first task, and then had spent all of the previous weekend in the school’s infirmary, though she wasn’t clear on the details. Though there had been a lot of students wearing those flashing badges before the First Task; now, only a handful were wearing them.

She wondered what he was doing now, she’d like to have a talk with him at some point, get to know him better. She then refocused her attention as three more puffs of snow hit her and redoubled her efforts to bury Gabby and her knew friends.

-=-=-=-

At that moment, the boy in question was making his way through the castle, on his way to the library to finish a potions essay, he still hadn’t ‘fed’ yet. He suspected that several of his female housemates would soon start making offers to help him. And although he’d promised Hermione he would accept, part of him couldn’t help feel like doing so would be a betrayal of her. He hoped he could last a bit longer, he’d been feeding so much lately, that he reasoned that he’d be able to manage going one or two days without, surely.

“Hey Harry.” A voice said behind him. Turning, he saw it was Parvati Patil walking towards him, looking a little…nervous?

The dark-skinned Indian girl blushed fiercely as she came to a stop before him. The few times their eyes met, she’d smile nervously and look away.

Harry had a feeling he knew what she wanted. He hadn’t missed Hermione handing out those pieces of parchment.

“Yes Parvati?” He asked. She looked around, spying a broom cupboard not far down the corridor, there was no-one else present, not even any portraits.

“I was wondering…if you needed any…_help_.” She said, saying the last word in a loud whisper.

“Help? Well, now you mention it, I was just on my way to the library to finish some essays for Moody, Sprout, Flitwick and The Greasy Git, I mean, _Professor_ Snape, and could probably use a second opinion on them.” Harry said with a grin. He knew _exactly_ what she meant by ‘help’, but after the way she and the rest of Gryffindor had treated him the past month, and how he’d seen most of his house, including her and Lavender, wearing Draco’s badges until this last Thursday, he decided a little payback was in order.

If Parvati wanted him to eat her out, she was going to have to work for it.

Parvati rolled her eyes and fixed him with an embarrassed glare. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it Potter!” She growled, before grabbing his hand and dragging him further down the corridor, to the broom cupboard. He tried to say something, but she didn’t listen, and shoved him into the confined space before stepping in and closing the door behind her then locking it.

“Parv, listen, I—” his protests were cut off as she pushed him down onto one of the benches, then stepped forward until she was only a few inches from him, the she lifted her skirt.

And Harry got his first look at Parvati’s vulva. Her lips were smooth, a beautiful milk chocolate brown, just like the rest of her. Above her lips, covering her mons, was a neatly trimmed triangle of short black hair. He could see well enough, despite the lack of light, to see that her lips were slightly parted, and they were already glistening.

She was already wet.

At this distance, he could smell her heady aroma as well. Sweet and heavy, with a faint musk to it that was uniquely feminine, and with a scent that was also uniquely _her._ He could also detect the distinct smell of coconut. Every breath he took of her scent made his trousers tighter, he closed his eyes as a grimace of embarrassment and guilt swept through him.

‘_I know I promised Hermione, but I don’t know if I can do this…’_ he thought guiltily.

“Parv, listen, it’s not that I don’t appreciate the offer, because I do, and I do think you’re really beautiful, but I already fed this morning.”

“I’m sure you have, and thank you. A girl always likes to know her body looks beautiful. But I know about this curse Harry, probably as much as Hermione does, if not more, so does Padma. We know it takes multiple feedings a day to stay fully on your feet. Sure, you can get by with two a day, but that’s dangerous. What if you forget the second one? Or someone stuns you and you end up missing the second deadline? Then you start going downhill.”

Harry raised an eyebrow at the mention of her twin.

“Does Padma know about this?”

“She does. I asked Hermione if I could tell her, and she said yes, as long as it doesn’t go further. Don’t worry, Padma won’t spread it around, she knows how serious this curse is, and neither will me or Lavender. Sure, we’re the school gossip queens, but even _we_ know when to keep a lid on things.”

She then tilted her head and gave him an impatient look.

“Now, stop talking and put that mouth of yours to some better use Harry. My fanny isn’t going to eat itself.”

Harry hesitated some more, licking his lips to wet them as his cock throbbed painfully hard in his pants.

“Or do you need a bit more incentive? Should I whip out the girls?” She asked, her hands started to move to her shirt and started pulling it up, revealing more of her flat stomach. “Or maybe…” she said with a seductive purr, as she took a step back, then turned round, looking back at him over her shoulder as she arched her back, pushing her hips back towards him a little.

“Or are you more of an arse man than a boob fan?” She giggled, wiggling her hips a little.

Harry grit his teeth as he tried to clamp down on his raging libido, and he tried desperately to think of something unsexy that would kill his erection, sadly, with a half-naked girl in front of him offering her body up on a figurative plate, it was difficult. He couldn’t help but look. Look and compare.

He noticed that Parvati’s butt was a little fuller than his girlfriend’s, the cheeks a bit more defined, though they were just as firm, yet soft, as he gently placed a slightly shaking hand on her left cheek. Even in the reduced light, with how her hips were angled, he could just make out a hint of her labia between her slightly spread legs.

“Mmm…” the Indian girl let out a slight moan at his touch. Reaching up, she slid a hand under her shirt and began to unbutton her blouse, wondering just how she measured up in the butt and bust department compared to Granger as her hand glided over the smooth skin of her chest. She then worked her shirt up, until it was over her breasts, and her blouse was pulled open. She couldn’t quite get naked, but this was as close as she could get for now. She shivered with building excitement as she felt Harry gently squeeze her ass, smiling to herself.

‘_Oh yeah, he’s definitely an arse man, but lets see how he likes the girls…’_ she thought, as she then straightened up and turned back around.

“While I do like my bum getting some attention on the odd occasion Harry, that’s _not_ the part of me you need to focus on right now. Here, let’s see if you like the look of these while you’re snacking.” She said with a husky whisper that Harry found he really liked the tone of, he’d have to drop a hint to Hermione to use it more often. He swallowed and shuddered with barely suppressed lust as he stared at Parvati’s slit once more as she turned round. He could definitely see how wet she was now. He then looked up and saw the twin mounds of her breasts that she was proudly displaying to him.

No knickers _or _bra.

‘_And I thought Hermione was the only kinky one in Gryffindor.’_ He thought.

“Come on Harry…” Parvati breathed, her eyes dark with lust, “Show me what you can do. Do to me what you did to Hermione to make her _shriek_ like a banshee.” As she angled her hips to give him better access, thrusting them forward. Harry paused and looked up at her, seeing her flushed face as she panted with desire, the enclosed space was starting to become heavy with the smell of her.

“Oh, so you…heard that huh?” he asked, blushing. Parvati rolled her eyes.

“Harry, _everyone_ in Gryffindor heard that! Some of us thought you were brutally murdering her in there. It sounded like she was either being stabbed to death, burned alive or giving birth to a baby elephant. Now, shut up and _eat me._” She growled, placing her hands on either side of his head and tried to pull him in.

Harry rolled his eyes.

“Fine, but _one_ lick.” He said, taking hold of her hips as she raised a foot and placed it next to him on the bench.

“_One_ lick?! Really? You better give me more than that Potter!” she growled, putting a hand on the wall behind him to support herself.

“Trust me Patil, it’ll only take one.” He said smugly, he then leaned in and extended his tongue, focusing, then he started to hiss, as his tongue came into contact with the bottom of her slit, and he slowly dragged his tongue along it, collecting a small amount of fluid as he did so.

“Oh? Someone’s very sure of themselves today, aren’t we? What makes you think it’ll only take one-_ooooOOOHHHHAAAHHH!_”

Parvati’s world dissolved into ecstasy as pleasure unlike anything she’d ever felt before erupted from her crotch, as sparks seemed to surge through her nervous system following the slow path of that _tongue!_ She arched her back, throwing her head back as she keened, her body shaking as she felt his tongue reach her clit and her body convulsed. Her other hand let go of her skirt and moved to the wall to support her weight as she started to roll her hips, grinding against his face. He then placed a kiss on her clit and pulled back, easing her away. He smirked up at her as she panted, taking deep breathes as she looked down at him, an unreadable expression in her eyes.

“There. Told you all it’d take is one lick.”

“What…the hell…was _that?!_” she panted.

“Parseltongue. Apparently, it is _very_ potent when used in oral.” He then started to gently ease her back away from him, making to stand, when she suddenly pushed forward, her hands going to the back and sides of his head, holding him in place between her legs.

“Oh _NO_ you don’t! Don’t you _DARE_ think about leaving me hanging after that!” she growled, shoving his face against her wet slit.

“_Mmph!”_ he grunted, as she started to roll her hips aggressively, grinding against his mouth really hard. _‘Maybe this was a mistake…’_ he thought as she then pulled her hips back and leaned over, tilting his head up to practically snarl into his face.

“You’re not leaving this cupboard until you finish what you started! Don’t want it getting back to Granger that you like to leave a job unfinished, do you? Now stick out that magic tongue and start hissing! ‘Cause Potter, you’re about to get your face _**fucked!**_” And with an almost insane grin, she tilted his head, rather roughly, back down and started to press her slit against his mouth again. Then, holding his head with both hands in a vise-like grip, she started to _thrust._

Harry had little choice but to obey as the Indian girl literally fucked his face, but he did have the foresight to cast a silencing charm on the door. It was fortunate that he did, since he said the incantation in Parseltongue while his fellow Gryffindor was grinding her erect clitoris and labia into his mouth and nose, very aggressively if he was honest with himself.

Thanks to the charm, the two Sixth years did not hear Parvati’s near deafening scream a short moment later as they walked past the cupboard.

Harry grunted again as Parvati thrust her hips forward with such force, his head was pressed back against the wall, and she held him there as she climaxed a _fourth_ time, filling his mouth again as she aggressively, almost _violently_ worked her hips back and forth against his mouth.

She was doing exactly what she’d promised to do.

“Oh…oh…uh…uh...nnnggh!” Parvati grunted, as she tried to catch her breath, body shaking as she awkwardly thrust her hips forward, though her movements were very sporadic now.

Harry couldn’t help but smile with smug pride, though his neck was _really_ starting to crink. He didn’t know if using Parseltongue during oral was technically cheating, but honestly, he didn’t care. Especially if it got the feeding over with quicker. With Hermione, he liked to take his time and enjoy it.

But with Parvati, and he assumed, any others who offered to ‘help’, assuming he accepted, it felt like he was cheating on his girlfriend, and he did not like that. He would feed from the others for now, but he silently vowed to find another way.

With a final thrust of her hips, Parvati pressed her swollen slit into his mouth, then trembled, her back arched and head leaning back as she let out a final gasping cry; Harry holding her hips to help support her weight as she shuddered again, one final time.

“Ugh…” with a final grunt, Parvati pulled back and looked down at his face, smiling as she panted breathlessly, then sank into his lap, going almost boneless as she kissed his wet face. She rested her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her in a hug, her body coated in sweat.

“Holy shit…” she gasped. Harry chuckled as he licked his lips and swallowed, the familiar taste of Treacle Tart filling his mouth, oddly making him hungry for more, hm…odd, he didn’t feel the usual ‘rush’ that he felt when he fed from Hermione…

That thought brought his previous thoughts to the front, and a wave of guilt washed over him.

“You ok?” he asked, as she pulled back then planted a kiss on his cheek.

“I’m _better _than ok. Boy, if I’d known you could do that since second year…I would have tried to nab you last year. Granger better _never_ let you go.”

Harry chuckled as she pulled back and looked at him, smiling mischievously as she felt his erection pressing between her legs.

“Hm…feels like you have a problem there…want me to help you some more?” she asked. Remembering that along with telling her that he would potentially need help, Hermione's note had explicitly said that she, and she assumed everyone else who read theirs, were not allowed to suck him off. Hand-jobs were ok though, right? Or maybe if she sucked him, but didn’t swallow?

“Uhm…” Harry said, his voice a little higher than normal. “I’m good thanks Parv…” though he wasn’t, his body desperately cried out for release, he was going to have to find a bathroom, even if he knew that probably wouldn’t work.

She raised an eyebrow as she finally stood on shaky legs, wobbling a little as she started buttoning up her blouse, and making herself presentable. “You sure? That felt really hard, and I bet it’s uncomfortable, sure you…couldn’t use a…_hand?_” she asked, giving him a cheeky smile and a wink. “It’s the _least_ I could do after a performance like that.”

“I'll…I'll be fine…” he said, steadily getting to his feet and giving her an appreciative look before cancelling the silencing charm and opening the door.

“So…what do _I_ taste like?” she asked, flirtatiously.

“Huh?” he asked, giving her a confused look.

“What does my cum taste like? I know for people afflicted with this curse, it’s supposed to taste like their favourite food, or at least something really sweet, as an incentive to keep doing it.”

“Oh, uh, treacle tart, like, well, that’s…Hermione.” He replied a little awkwardly.

As they walked out, Harry quickly looked around to see if anyone was present, they seemed to be in the clear. Parvati stumbled out, her legs still somewhat unsteady. She caught herself on the wall and giggled.

“Phew! That was fun. Seriously Potter, Granger better not _ever_ let you go, or she’d be the biggest fool on the planet.” And with that, she gave him one last smile, turned and walked off, her gait a little unsteady.

Unseen by him, her warm smile turned into a ridiculously happy grin as she walked, unconsciously swaying her hips at him. _‘I can’t WAIT to tell Pads and Lav about this! They’ll NEVER believe me!’_

Harry didn’t even have time to mention the fact that if Hermione ‘let him go’, she’d probably be signing her own death sentence. Then he paused as he turned in the opposite direction, as a thought struck him. One he had not considered before, but only now realized.

He and Hermione were effectively _trapped_.

Trapped in a relationship that thankfully, was borne from an already well-established friendship, so it had a great foundation to build from.

But it was still a relationship that revolved around sex, for the most part. They’d have to work on that. Sex couldn’t be _all_ this was about.

But a thought suddenly occurred to him that made him pause and think.

What if it had been someone else?

What if, by some cruel twist of fate, he’d been protecting someone else from that curse? Or someone else had been protecting Hermione? Someone that neither of them had a close friendship with, or were good friends, but already had prior commitments to others?

What if, Merlin forbid, the other individual, if there’d been one at all, had been a member of _Staff?!_

He briefly tried to imagine what the what the fallout would have been if that had been the case. If Draco had cursed any of the Staff with that curse, well, his furry little ferret arse would have been out of Hogwarts within the _hour_, Dumbledore wouldn’t have been able to do _anything_ about that.

Still, he couldn’t help but wonder how a member of the faculty would cope with this, he wasn’t sure if anyone of them were seeing anyone. And he wasn’t about to ask any of them. He didn’t fancy serving the rest of the school year in detention. He certainly couldn’t see either himself or Hermione helping said members of Staff deal with the curse, they’d probably refuse anyway. That was all assuming of course that the Staff member in question wouldn’t have disarmed Draco before he got the curse out.

The only scenario worse than a member of staff being caught in it, was a Second or First year getting hit.

But that hadn’t happened, thankfully. It had just been him and Hermione, ironically, probably the best option either of them could have gotten. An errant thought crossed his mind that he should actually _thank_ Draco, but he quickly dismissed it. Yes, he and Hermione had gotten very lucky, in more ways than one, thanks to Draco, but they were still trapped in this arrangement, possibly for the rest of their lives, unless completing the Bonding somehow cured it, in which case, it would just be a matter of waiting until they both felt they were ready.

Harry then decided he’d thought enough on this topic, he didn’t want to dwell on it anymore. It was leading into dangerous territory.

Plus he was still as hard as a _rock._ And it was beginning to hurt. He quickly cast a few glamour charms on himself so it wouldn’t be noticeable, then he turned and headed for the main entrance. If his mind couldn’t help him ‘cool down’ then maybe being out in near freezing temperatures would do it.

-=-=-=-

A short time later, he was out on the front lawn, looking around at the playing students, he sucked in a breath of cold air, held it then let it out.

A snowball sailed past him, and he leaned to the side to avoid a second, turning, he saw the small group of First years who were alternating between throwing snow at him, and…Fleur?

He watched for a moment, smiling as she dodged and ducked, avoiding frozen projectiles being sent her way. Unfortunately, the cold did nothing to cure him of his ‘condition’, which was, to his annoyance, being exasperated by the fact that she was so beautiful. If anything, his ‘condition’ was getting _worse_ looking at her. He grit his teeth and did his best to ignore his hormones and the damn Curse as he tried desperately not to imagine what those pink lips of hers, that looked so incredibly soft and sensual, would look and feel like wrapped around his dick.

“Hello Fleur, need some help?” he asked, ducking an incoming snowball.

“Ah, bonjour ‘arry. Oui, my seester has betrayed me!” she said with mock anger, a grin splitting her face as she crouched behind a rise as he approached. He looked over, and yep, there was Gabrielle among the Firsties. He grinned.

“So I see.” He crouched next to her, scooping up some snow.

“How are you finding Hogwarts? Not too cold for you?” he asked.

“Eet ez good school, zough I am not sure about some of ze students.” She replied, thinking of the Slytherins who had leered at her, and a few she’d seen eyeing Gabrielle. Harry nodded.

“Yeah, but there are problem students in every school.” He admitted.

“Mhm, I was really impressed by ze performance you gave during ze Task.” She replied. Harry chuckled.

“Yeah, that was all improv. My original plan went up in flames. Literally.”

She gave him a sympathetic look as she dodged another snowball. “Oui, we saw.” After throwing one of her own, catching a First year Ravenclaw boy, she continued. “What made you zink to try touching eet?” she asked. Harry shrugged, he honestly hadn’t really thought at the time, he’d just gone with a feeling he’d had.

“I just wanted to show her I wasn’t a threat. I figured the only humans she’d ever had contact with used wands against her, and she and her clutch were in an alien environment, so naturally, her maternal instincts were set to _‘Kill Anything That Moves! Especially if it’s holding a Stick!’_ mode. So I figured ‘Why not show her a human that doesn’t hold a stick?’ and luckily, it worked.”

“And if eet ‘ad not?” she asked. He shrugged again.

“Then I would have become the youngest Tri-Wizard Champion in history to get eaten by a dragon.”

“I guess so.”

“Figured out your egg yet?” he asked, she shook her head. “Well, word of advice, don’t try to pry open the panels. It shrieks. A lot.”

“Shrieks?” she asked, turning to look at him, a thoughtful, and if he was right, a slightly fearful look in her eyes.

“Yeah, sounded horrible, only listened to it for a few seconds.”

“Hmm…” she hummed, momentarily distracted.

“Not sure if Cedric or Krum have told you yet, but I was told about a room on the Seventh Floor near Gryffindor Tower, opposite a tapestry of a wizard trying to teach Trolls to dance ballet.”

“Non, zey ‘ave not. What kind of room?” she asked.

“It’s called the Room of Requirement, and you open it by walking back and forth in front of the tapestry 3 times, thinking about what you really need.”

“What eez in zis room?” she asked, turning to look at him. He shrugged.

“Anything you want. It creates anything you need, and once you’re inside, you can change it to what you want it to be, it can conjure almost anything. Only thing it can’t do is food.”

Fleur nodded. “Merci ‘arry.” She said with a smile.

The two of them continued to talk, and Harry did his best to ignore his raging libido.

They talked for nearly an hour, with Gabrielle and the First years coming over to join them eventually, when they realized the snowball fight was over.

-=-=-=-

Later, after lunch, Hermione pulled him to one side, down a side corridor, until they found an empty broom cupboard.

As soon as the door was shut and locked, Hermione turned to face him, her eyes burning with barely restrained lust. Harry finally lost his struggle with his own as she pounced on him and their lips met in a fierce kiss, and she pushed him back against the back wall.

Ten minutes later, the door opened and the two stumbled out, panting and sweating, their hair and clothes a mess.

“Well…that was…intense.” Harry said as he finished trying to sort himself out.

“Heh, I did warn you…” Hermione said, straightening out her shirt. “Though you seemed pretty pent up yourself there.”

“Yeah, you did…” Harry said, he hadn’t mentioned his encounter with Parvati, and he thought he’d best keep quiet about it. His girlfriend might be ‘ok’ with the idea of him feeding from others, but he was pretty sure she didn’t want a list.

“Well, I need to get back to the library, still got some essays to finish, want to come with?” she asked.

He was tempted, he really was, but he reasoned that, if he went with her to the library, studying would be the last thing he’d end up doing.

“Love to, I would, but I think, honestly, in my current state of mind, studying would be the _last_ thing I’d end up doing.” He said, giving her an apologetic smile, and a wink.

Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes. “Honestly Harry! You’re such a _boy!_”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” He said, chuckling as he gave her a hug, shamelessly reaching a hand down to firmly squeeze and rub her arse.

Hermione giggled as she hugged him back, burying her face in his neck as a thought went through her head and she thrust her hips back into his wandering hand.

‘_What am I going to do with him?’_

Unfortunately, her lust addled brain didn’t recognize that as the rhetorical question it was, and promptly provided an answer.

‘_Lay him out on a table, cover his gorgeous naked body in all sorts of confections and then eat him penis first?’_

She mentally groaned as she tried, and failed, to stop the mental images that suggestion created from forming in her mind as she felt her arousal start to build again.

‘_Shut. UP!’_

She couldn’t wait for this week to be over, and it hadn’t even properly started yet, she mentally tried to work out how many days it could be, if three, then she’d be down by Wednesday, any longer and it could be Friday.

‘_God, I really hope I’m not like this every month…I don’t know how I'll cope!’_

Pulling back, she looked at him, smiling, hoping her flushed face didn’t give her away too much. “Ok, well, I'll catch you later then.” And with that, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek, and turned, heading off. He watched her go, part of him really wanted to follow her to the library and find a nice quiet spot in the Restricted Section and go another round, but she had work to do, and honestly, so did he, and he needed to concentrate, something he figured he wouldn’t be able to do with Hermione sat next to him in a secluded spot.

-=-=-=-

On his way back to the Common Room after lunch, he was intercepted by Lavender Brown.

He didn’t notice her until she was just a few feet away and he looked up.

“Hey there Harry, you’re looking a little…haggard.” She said, smirking and giving him a knowing look.

He shrugged, smiling wanly.

“Eh, can’t complain I guess, went outside, got some fresh air, had a snowball fight, ya’know.”

Lavender nodded, though she wasn’t really interested in small talk right at that moment. And the sudden hungry look she gave him clearly telegraphed that fact.

‘_Oh boy, here we go again…’_ he thought. _‘I wonder if I should start charging 10 Sicles a go at some point.’_

As she opened her mouth to speak, Harry raised his hand to stop her.

“Look, Lavender, I think I know what you’re really after here. And, while I appreciate the offer, I…” _‘How can I say this delicately?’_ “…I…”

“Yes…?” Lavender purred, tilting her head slightly as she tried to strike a pose that she hoped he’d find alluring, which mainly involved her pushing her chest up and out. Parvati had told her what he’d done to her in that broom cupboard, and she wanted some of that herself.

“I…” he swallowed, steading his nerve as he tried to focus on Lavender’s face, and not her chest. “I don’t need to…um…feed, right now.”

Lavender blinked in confusion, as she stood up straight, the flirtatious expression leaving her face.

“What?” she asked.

Harry shrugged, “Well, I don’t want to sound, well, presumptuous, but, that _is_ why you’re here, isn’t it?”

“What? A girl can’t approach you for a chat without having an ulterior motive?” she asked, folding her arms, and sounding more than a little offended. “I mean, sure, it would be _nice_ if you could do to me what you did to Parv earlier, I also hear Padma’s looking for you as well, but still, you automatically assume I’m talking to you just for the sole reason of wanting to get my fanny licked?”

“Well, considering over the past month you’ve all gone out of your way to ignore me or insult me.” Harry snarked back. Now it was Lavender’s turn to be on the defensive.

“Well, we _did_ apologise for that, and maybe I wanted to make it up to you myself in my own way.” She replied hotly.

“Look…” he said, trying to salvage what he could from this before he upset her anymore. “I appreciate the offer, I do, but I’ve already fed three times today, and quite honestly, my jaw is starting to ache. I feel fine, I don’t need to ‘top up’ right now, and before you say I need as much as I can get, I know that. I’m just not really comfortable with the idea of feeding from people other than Hermione. I know she said I could, I just don’t really want to. And besides, if I start diving under the skirts of every girl in Gryffindor, word will get out. And last thing I want is the whole school finding out about this.”

“Are you really sure they’d care that much?” Lavender asked, Harry scoffed.

“Oh please! I’m a pretty hot topic of conversation these days, always have been, apparently. For something I don’t even _fucking remember DOING!_”

His last words came out as a snarl, and Lavender backed up a little, taken aback.

“In fact, come to think of it, it’s my _mum_ that should be getting all the credit! _NOT _me! _SHE’S _the one that did all the work that night. _She’s _the one that did the one thing none of the fucking _COWARDS _in the Ministry or the Order had the spine or balls to do: _Kill! Tom Fucking Riddle!_”

And with that, he walked past her, before she could reply; but rather than head towards the common room, he turned, heading in another direction, soon finding himself wandering through the corridors. If he was honest with himself, his encounter with Lavender had left him a little riled. Sure, he _had_ appreciated the offer, but this was someone who had spent the last month ridiculing and blanking him, walking around wearing one of those damn badges, and he still remembered how she’d acted during their second year, along with most of their house and the school when they thought he was the Heir of Slytherin. And yes, that last bit might have been a little on the harsh side, but he felt his anger about that nice was justified.

So he really didn’t feel in the mood to get under her skirt for _any_ reason.

Soon, he bumped into Daphne Greengrass and Susan Bones, the two girls giving him a tight hug.

“How you doing Harry?” Susan asked, smiling at him as Daphne stepped in for a hug.

Harry smiled as he returned it, taking a deep breath of Susan’s deep red hair. “Eh, ya know, I’m doing ok I guess. Got entered into a potentially lethal competition against my will, lost my broom in the first task, risked getting eaten, got cursed by a ponce, which, in retrospect, I should probably thank him for because I’m gotten more head these last few days than I have in my entire life beforehand.”

Daphne snorted, smirking. “I bet. Sooo…” she said, her voice taking on a teasing and flirtatious tone, “What’s it like getting your willy sucked several times a day? And what’s it like getting your tongue wet?”

Susan snorted, smirking as she gave Harry a once-over.

“I’m not answering that.” He said, folding his arms.

“What? It is a valid question.” Then she turned to Susan “I don’t know about you Sue, but I certainly wouldn’t mind getting some head every now and then. A girl has needs ya know Potter.”

Harry shrugged. “Well, I can’t really do that with Hermione at the moment, and only Parvati has cornered me so far, Lavender tried, I think, but I shot her down.”

“Why? I thought Hermione said you weren’t allowed to refuse help?” Susan asked, Harry nodded.

“Well, she implied she didn’t want me to, she just said she’d be very upset if she found out I’d been skipping.”

“Best not to skip then, next time Lavender or anyone else asks, better take them up on it. Remember, you upset her, you’re on the sofa.” She replied. “Too bad she’s on her cycle though, I’m surprised we still haven’t found a spell or potion to cure that.”

“Yeah, that’s a bitch. Take it from someone who actually has to _deal_ with that crap once a month.” Daphne added. “Fortunately for you, that’s not an issue for me this week. So if you ever want either me or Sue to help you out, just come and find us, and we’ll…take care of your needs.” She finished with a grin and a wink.

“Oh, _‘we’_ will, will we?” Susan said, folding her arms and giving her friend a look. “How very nice of you to offer him my fanny on a platter Daphne.”

“Oh _please_ Bones, you’ve been dying to get him between your legs just as much as I have, and don’t you deny it!” Daphne then smiled at Harry, before she continued “Besides, you, me and Luna _all_ offered to help him out if he ever needed it. And this week, he will.”

“Well, I appreciate the offer girls, but right now, I uh…I don’t really need to feed right now.” Harry said.

The two girls shrugged.

“That’s ok, it’d be kind of cramped in a broom cupboard with three of us, and with these abandoned classrooms, no telling which paintings might be passing around information. We’d need to find somewhere more…private anyway.” Daphne said.

“Ever heard of the Room of Requirement?” Harry asked.

-=-=-=-

Later, just after Dinner, Harry had just left the Great Hall, trying to hide the fact that he was starting to feel rather lethargic and tired, since he hadn’t fed since that morning with Parvati. He figured he’d be fine, not much longer and he’d be able to get back to his and Hermione’s quarters and join her in the shower.

Or at least, that was the plan, until Luna had rounded the corner and intercepted him, grabbing him by his tie, she started dragging him down the corridor towards a broom cupboard.

He didn’t even try to protest, he just mentally sighed and rolled his eyes, as several other students gave him and Luna odd looks, though he did catch the look on Hermione’s face, and it almost made him stop walking. While she _was_ smiling with a look of encouragement, he could see the emotional conflict in her eyes. She might have insisted he accept offers of help, and even arrange those offers of help, but he could see the truth of it.

She was not entirely ok with it.

In some capacity, she was struggling, emotionally, to cope with the situation, and if he were honest, that realisation made him feel _worse_ about this whole thing. He wasn't sure how they'd cope with this next month, though if he remembered right, she'd probably start producing milk soon, so, he reasoned, he could just use that.

_'Would that work though?'_ he thought as Luna dragged him towards a cupboard.

"Uhm, Luna? What are you doing?" he asked.

"Feeding you of course." Luna said casually, as if it were the most normal thing in the world to say to a guy as they reached a cupboard and she opened it and practically shoved him in, then closed and locked the door behind her, applying several silencing and privacy charms.

"Look Luna, I appreciate the offer, really, but there's no need." Harry deflected. Luna didn't reply, instead, she shoved him down onto the bench then stepped up onto the bench, her feet on either side of his legs, as she started to lift her skirt.

Harry had a good idea what he was going to find before she'd finished lifting the skirt, and yes, he was right.

She was going commando. And she was as smooth as Hermione and Parvati. And despite himself, the sight of her smooth vulva, and the smell of her, was more than enough to inflame his libido, and in an instant, he was painfully hard again. Before he even knew he was doing it, he was taking a deep breath, his nose just shy of touching her, his lungs filling with her warm, heady scent, and by _Merlin_, she smelt _good!_

"Actually, there is. I've been watching you whenever I get the chance, and I've noticed how tired you've gotten. You haven't fed since this morning. We're in a Family Alliance now, which means I must do all I can to help you if I am able, and if you need it. You do. I am. So I will." She replied, casting a sticking charm on her skirt to hold it up, she braced herself against the wall and bent her knees a little and moved forward, until she felt his warm breath between her legs, and smiled.

Harry sighed, figuring he wasn't going to talk his way out of _this_ one, so he reached up, the warm, soft cheeks of her ass filling his hands rather nicely, and brought her forward.

-=-

Later that night, laying in bed with Hermione sleeping soundly next to him, Harry was struggling to shut his brain down, a first, if he were honest. He thought to himself, making a mental note to ask Hermione in the morning when she would start producing, as he honestly didn't feel ok feeding from others, he knew Hermione wasn't completely ok with it, if her milk gave him what he needed, then that would do.

The question was whether she'd stop producing after they'd bonded, or not. And if not, how long would she go on for? Months? Years? _Decades?_

It was something they'd have to discuss, at length, once this week was over.

He had a feeling Daphne and Susan were planning to approach him soon, but he felt he needed to get to know them better first. He also needed to talk to Hermione about what he'd seen with the Horntail.

Sure, that last bit wasn’t particularly relevant to anything, but he still found it odd.

It was nearly midnight by the time Harry finally got to sleep.

_ **Monday November 28, 1994.** _

After breakfast, Harry had just left the Great Hall and was making his way past another cupboard, when the door opened and an arm shot out and pulled him in before he could react.

His world spun as he heard the door being closed and locked with a muttered spell, then, before he'd finished getting his bearings, a pair of lips crashed into his, and he felt hands start to fumble with his belt.

Considering the path his life seemed to have taken lately, this wasn't too unexpected, or alarming, after all, Luna had done the same thing pretty much, the evening before. At first, he thought it was Susan Bones, when he noticed a flash or crimson hair. However, alarm bells started ringing in his head when he regained enough faculties to see the girl's hair was a very _familiar_ shade of red, and that she was shorter than him. Younger than him.

This was _not_ Susan.

The kiss finally broke as Harry felt his pants being unzipped and pushed down his legs as the girl that had ambushed him sank to one knee, panting heavily.

_"GINNY!"_ he yelped.

"Quiet! This'll go a lot quicker without interruptions." She replied, as she pulled down his boxers and got her first look at him.

"Oooh…_very_ nice." She purred as she gently took his half-erect shaft in-hand and started stroking.

Harry silently cursed. He was really beginning to hate this curse, and how it always seemed to leave him in at least a semi-state of arousal, almost constantly, even after 'taking care of things', his arousal wouldn't stay down for long, especially not with so many good looking girls walking around, with Hermione being at the top of the list. And Fleur _certainly_ wasn't helping. He briefly remembered how _gorgeous_ she'd looked, and how everything about her seemed to just _scream_ sex.

For a brief moment, he wondered if a Veela had been the one to create the _Gift of Aphrodite_, but he wasn't sure, he figured he'd have to ask Fleur about it, if he had the chance. He just had to get out of this cupboard first.

He wasn't sure if it was the fact they were now a thing, but recently, over the last few days, he found almost everything Hermione did very arousing, he'd just never mentioned it to her.

_'Guess I still have _some_ hang-ups to work through…'_ he thought. Right now though, he had a bigger problem.

His reminiscing of his encounter with Fleur and his reminder of Hermione had hardened his shaft in Ginny's hand to the point where it was almost _painful._

When he finally regained his focus and looked down, he could feel his body had warmed up significantly, and he was starting to sweat a little, and, he was standing in a broom cupboard with his pants round his knees, and a raging hardon inches from _Ginny Weasley's face!_

The girl he thought of as a surrogate sister was on her knees in front of him, slowly stroking his raging erection, staring at it in wide-eyed wonder, a look of pure lust and fascination painted across her freckled face as she stared, open mouthed.

"Oh _my."_ She purred, licking her lips salaciously before looking up at him and grinning with pride.

"I knew you had to be big, but I had no _idea._ Thinking about me where you?"

_'Absolutely NOT! Not in the slightest!'_ He thought. "I'm only average. And just what the heck do you think you're doing?" he said, as he made to push her away.

"Helping you, that is what you need, right?" she replied, as she started to lean forward, her mouth opening to take in the head of his shaft.

"I'm good thanks. And besides, thats _not_ how this works. I'm supposed to go down on the girl, not the other way round, unless you're Hermione."

Ginny paused, momentarily scowling at the mention of her perceived rival.

"Pro tip Harry, don't mention another girl’s name when one is about to give you a blowjob. It's not polite."

_'Obviously.'_ He thought.

"Except you're not going to give me a blowjob Ginny. I'm fairly sure Hermione didn't give you a slip of parchment, which means, you're not supposed to be one of the ones offering to help me." He said, as he stepped to the side as she leaned forward, causing her to miss her target, almost. She still had a firm grip on him, so all he managed to do was angle himself rather uncomfortably. He all but jumped back when her lips momentarily made contact with his skin as he pushed her hand away and started pulling up his pants.

"You're too young to start the bonding. And even if you weren't, you're like a sister to me, it wouldn't feel right." He said.

Ginny scowled as she stood. "Fine then." She unceremoniously unfastened her skirt and dropped it to the floor, and Harry quickly looked away when he saw the bare skin of her hips, indicating she wasn't wearing any knickers, though he also caught a very brief glimpse of the bush she was sporting.

_'What IS it about girls and going commando lately? It's like they're all expecting to get eaten out or something!'_ he ranted mentally.

While he had nothing against a girl having hair down there, he would at least prefer it to be trimmed.

_'Au Natural isn't really my thing though.'_ He thought.

"Ginny, stop.” He said, stepping away, turning his head.

Ginny scoffed, “What? Not good enough for you? You prefer a smooth snatch is that it?” She growled. Harry gave her a look, making sure to keep his gaze on her face.

“I _did_ just say that I think of you as a sister, didn’t I?” He replied as he pulled up his boxers and trousers. She actually had the nerve to roll her eyes at him and wave him comment off.

“You do know that all pure-blood families are interrelated, right?”

Harry shuddered, that meant he was likely related to Malfoy in some way, not the sort of thing he wanted to be made aware of. Though that did oddly enough help in killing his unwanted arousal, at least, partially. He then turned and drew his wand, unlocking the door.

“Besides, I figured I’d do my bit to help the Boy-Who-Lived.” She smiled at him sweetly, at least, what she thought was a sweet smile, but to him, it looked predatory.

“Sorry Ginny, I’m not interested. And you’re not supposed to be Bonding with me, not only because I don’t want you to, but because Hermione doesn’t either, and I’ll bet neither do your family. Now I’ll forgo telling Fred and George what you just tried to do, on the condition you never try this again.”

He paused, then looked back at her over his shoulder.

“Oh, and one more thing. I am _NOT_ the Boy-Who-Lived, he’s just a fantasy you’ve been brought up to idolize, along with the rest of your generation. I’m not him. I’m sure there are stories out there about things I’ve done through out my life, but you should know better that those stories are lies. I spent the nine years of my life after my parents died, before I came here, living like a _House Elf_.”

And before she could stop him, he opened the door and walked out, leaving a half naked, red-faced, confused and outraged Ginny staring after him in disbelief.

He made a mental note to himself to investigate if there were any stories about him and look them up.

-=-=-=-

_ **Office of the Senior Under-Secretary, Ministry of Magic, London.** _

Dolores Umbridge closed the door to her office and walked to her desk, putting down the several sheets of parchment she had, all filled with copies of documents from Genealogy Department.

Her research had been…informative.

And her initial suspicions had been correct.

Tom Riddle, the self-styled Lord Voldemort, was a Half-Blood.

She had found no trace of any family called Riddle in the Hall of Records, going back as far as the records were kept.

So then she'd turned her efforts to looking up the descendants of Salazar Slytherin, while still trying to mentally decrypt Voldemort's middle name.

Eventually, she'd hit pay-dirt, with both.

The Gaunt family, with a Wizard named Marvolo as its last recorded Family Head.

She sat down then leafed through the pages, picking up several which had various details on Marvolo, including reports filed in the DMLE concerning his breaches of the SoS.

Marvolo Gaunt, father of Morffin and Merope. The former, a half-crazed and almost feral Wizard according to the few eye-witness reports of the head of the DMLE at the time who was visiting the house, who apparently spoke nothing but Parseltongue, and the latter, a Witch who was barely above a Squib.

Umbridge snorted as she read over the papers.

_'What a disgrace.'_ She thought. _'Salazar would roll in his grave if he knew what his greatness had been reduced to.'_

Though it galled her to admit it, the Gaunt Family would have to be removed from the list of Sacred Twenty-Eight for the crimes of it's last daughter.

While she might be a blood purist of the highest order, she wasn't an idiot. You didn't make it through seven years in Slytherin by being stupid. She was fully aware of the dangers of multiple generations of inbreeding within the Pure Blood families, Merope and Morffin were prime examples of that.

It was just easier to use the Mudbloods as a scapegoat.

She leafed through to another sheet and started reading what was written.

The Gaunt Family had once been proud and prosperous, quite well off in fact, but over the centuries, through either bad money making decisions or just plain bad luck, their fortunes had dwindled, until eventually, they had been reduced to a shack on the outskirts of a small muggle town called Little Hangleton, on the edge of an estate owned by the most wealthy family in the town.

A family of Muggles_._

The _Riddles_.

"Disgusting." She muttered, though she had to admit, she couldn't fault Merope for doing what she'd done. The poor girl must have been _desperate_ to escape her existence. Though the details concerning Tom Riddle Jr's conception were never written down, and so she did not know them, she could at least theorize.

Clearly Merope had wanted a better life, and had somehow caught the attention of Voldemort's father, but clearly it hadn't lasted past the discovery of her pregnancy, as Merope had disappeared after being disowned by her father and brother. Later records from the Department for Magical Education revealed that a young Tom Riddle had been living in an Muggle Orphanage, indicating that was where Merope had gone, where she had given birth, and perished, after naming him Tom, evidently.

From that, Dolores was able to work out the rest for herself.

_'A young child learns he's a Wizard, wants to stand out, but clearly hates his own name. Obviously believed his muggle family abandoned him, as they clearly did. And so started a campaign supporting the Pure Blood Cause, even though he wasn’t one himself. And most believed otherwise, simply because they assumed, or he lied. Likely both.'_

She grit her teeth and scowled in fury, suddenly grateful she never took his mark during the last war. Then she thought of all those who foolishly pledged themselves to him, foolishly and blinding thinking he was one of them, when all along, he'd been a charlatan. A pretender. A liar.

A _Half-breed._

If there was one thing Dolores Umbridge hated more than Mudbloods, it was Half-breeds, though she tolerated Half-_bloods_ as a necessary evil in their world, other kinds of half-breeds, like Centaurs, or that half-giant Dumbledore protected, they were a different matter. But a Half-Blood leading Pure-Bloods? No.

A Half-breed like Voldemort had _no_ business ruling Britain, and certainly not the Pure-Bloods!

And Voldemort had no right calling himself a 'Lord' either, certainly not by their standards.

A Lord, she knew, was the title given to the head of a Magical Family, usually, one old enough to be considered Noble at the very least, Ancient garnered more respect, and families that were considered both Ancient _and_ Noble received the most respect from their peers.

The Gaunts, and the Riddles, were _neither. Well_, the Gaunts had been _Ancient_ at least, but were certainly no longer Nobles by the time Marvolo was born.

And to think, she'd _almost_ taken his mark and joined his ranks, though she had told some of his followers privately that she supported him, and would continue to do so. An unmarked Death Eater. Now though, she couldn't. Dolores Umbridge bowed to _no _half-breed.

Yes, her plans would have to move forward, and she would have to work at weakening Riddle's support base…maybe start with the ones in Azkaban…

_ **Hogwarts, Classroom 7A, Seventh Floor, Arithmancy class.** _

In the Arithmancy classroom, on the Seventh Floor, Hermione tried to concentrate on the mathematical equation written on the chalk board.

She looked up at Professor Vector as she started talking again, pointing and tried to focus, but she couldn't.

She'd heard Lavender complaining about Harry refusing to let her help him the day before, though she hadn't said anything. She'd also heard through the gossip mill that Harry had been seen walking out of a broom closet only a short while after someone had dragged him in, only to be followed out a few minutes later by a flustered and mildly peeved looking Ginny.

She snorted to herself. She wanted to be surprised at Ginny's attempt, but she honestly wasn't. Though hopefully the crush she'd nursed for Harry would fade soon now the girl knew she didn't stand a chance.

She idly wondered if the Twins or Ron had heard about that little incident yet.

As she looked down at her work again, she started to imagine what it would look like to draw a rune array on Harry's naked body using something edible, like syrup or whipped cream, and how that would affect the runes and their empowerment. Hermione blinked as she tried to clear her head, and banish those thoughts. Now was not the time.

But she couldn't help it. She'd been horny all day, more so than usual, over the past week and a half. The last couple of days, particularly around mealtimes and just after, she'd been particularly randy. In fact, she hadn't really been able to focus on the conversations around her, and she'd just nodded aimlessly whenever someone talked to her. She was really starting to _hate_ her cycle, not that she really liked it to begin with, but this amount of horniness was just outrageous!

She was a sophisticated girl, thank you very much, not some sex-crazed nymphomaniac who couldn’t go more than five minutes without thinking about sucking off, stroking or fucking her boyfriend!

The fact that her other hand had already made it’s way down under her robes and into her skirt to try and bring herself some relief didn’t really help her case in that argument.

She was _so_ distracted in fact, that she didn’t even realize she’d been masturbating in class until a tremor of warmth and ecstasy that still didn’t do anything to quench the fire burning between her legs spread through her abdomen, and she blinked in silent horror at what she’d just done, quickly looking around to see if anyone had noticed. They hadn’t. She mentally groaned.

_'Probably just the curse, my subconscious is probably just associating food with my need to "feed" now.'_

She hoped that once they bonded, this rampant horniness they both seemed to be under now would alleviate, because if it didn't…they'd have to move to a private island somewhere in the tropics.

She'd even started ogling other students, even _Susan!_ And she'd masturbated with Luna in the library, true, she hadn't noticed Luna had been doing it too until the other girl climaxed, but that was beside the point! She was _not_ interested in girls. She wasn't. She was sure of it.

And yet, the last few times she'd looked at Susan, or even a few other girls in the Great Hall, usually around meal times, she couldn't help but ogle them.

She mentally groaned and rubbed her eyes with one hand, resting an elbow on the desk as she sighed. If this kept up, she'd be constantly horny at mealtimes, she just hoped she'd still be able to focus on eating.

_'I wonder how Harry is doing in Divination…'_ she thought idly, her concentration on her work utterly ruined as she bit down on her tongue to stop a scream of frustration, as she felt heat and wetness pool in her crotch. _Again._

_ **Tuesday November 29, 1994.** _

Hermione tried to concentrate in History of Magic, but it was difficult, not only because Bins was his usual droning self, going on and on about Goblin rebellions, her thoughts also kept going to Harry, as well as several other students that she’d noticed during breakfast.

Particularly Susan, Daphne and even Luna. She’d also taken more notice of the girls in her own House, particularly Parvati and Lavender. She had no idea why she’d taken such interest in them, but for some reason, she’d been drawn to them, feeling her body warm and tingle as she looked at certain girls, and focused on various parts of their bodies. Particularly their lips and chests.

She wanted to scream, this was really starting to aggravate her. It was getting to the point that she couldn’t look at another student without her arousal spiking while she mentally undressed them. More than once, she wondered if this is what Harry had to deal with when he was round any of them, or even Fleur.

She shuddered, she didn’t want to think about how her body would react under the curse if she was in close-quarters with Fleur, and it was forcing her arousal even in the presence of beautiful women, which ironically, _should_ have inspired fierce jealousy in her, not spikes of lust where she imagined burying her face in their chests or crotches, or having them do the same to her.

She made the mistake of looking at Harry next to her, who had covertly pulled out some homework and was working on that, rather than listen to Bins. Part of her wanted to reprimand him, but the rest of her understood his lackluster attention to the lesson. Especially since Bins never got her name right, or anyone else’s.

Not for the first time, she wondered if there was any truth to the rumor that Binns had died of boredom listening to his own voice.

As she looked at her boyfriend, she felt her mouth water, along with her _other_ lips, as she imagined crawling under his desk to suck him off in class, and take her sweet time doing it too. The fact that Bins probably wouldn’t even _notice, _much less care, made the idea very appealing.

‘_God...if only I had his invisibility cloak on me...’_ she thought, wondering just how feasible it would be for her to use the cloak to give him an unexpected blowjob in public.

“You ok?” He whispered. Putting his left hand on her thigh. She bit her lip as a surge of need ran through her, and she opened her legs almost on reflex, but he didn’t move his hand any higher, much to her frustration.

“Yeah.” She lied. Why wasn’t he moving his hand up? She was offering a free chance for him to finger her and he wasn’t taking it!

“Hey, I was wondering if you could answer something for me.” He said, his voice still a whisper as he continued to work, but not looking at her. Ron was sleeping, his head on his arms.

‘_If you’re about to ask me to suck you to dehydration, or if you can finger my very wet fanny, the answer is YES to either or both!’_ Her rampant libido started to play havoc with her thought patterns.

“During the first task, when the Horntail turned her back on me, I...noticed something..._odd._ That I honestly hadn’t been expecting to see.” He said, his face darkening a little as he turned to look at her, his eyes widening as he saw the blatant lust burning in her gorgeous brown eyes as she looked at him, her lips swollen and full as she lightly panted. He idly wondered if she’d noticed the solid erection in his trousers, which was thankfully very easy to hide once he sat down, though it was making it difficult for him to concentrate.

“Odd how?” She asked, _‘I don’t give a damn! I just wanna be _fucked!_ Seriously, what does a girl have to do to get _LAID_ around here?!’_

“Dragons are reptiles right? And with reptiles, everything is...well, _inside_, nothing on the outside, right?”

“Generally, yes. It’s only mammals that have external generals that are separate from the end of the digestive system. Though that may also apply to sharks.” Hermione panted, trying to focus her mind on the conversation, and not on the burning, almost painful heat between her legs. If it weren’t for the numerous students around them, she would have already climbed into his lap and started riding him, most likely.

Harry’s blush darkened. “Well, when she turned her back and raised her tail to inspect her eggs, I saw, at the base of her tail, she had...hum...”

“What?” She asked, curiosity now peaked.

“She had a pussy. An actual pussy, and ass. I could see both, I’m surprised no-one else saw it.”

Hermione blinked in surprise. “What? You mean she had an actual vulva?” Disbelief colored her words as she tried to imagine what he’d seen, considering how big that dragon had been, and how she and the others watching hadn’t noticed that, though to be fair, she’d been staring at _him._

“Yes! It didn’t look exactly like a human’s, but it was damn close.”

Hermione blinked. Of all the things for him to ask, that hadn’t even been on the list. She’d honestly never given any thought to such things regarding Dragons, she’d just assumed since they were reptiles, that everything was internal, but apparently, at least with Horntail females, it was not. She began to ponder the matter further.

“What do you think?” He asked, she gave a light shrug.

“Well, I always assumed Dragons were cold blooded, but maybe they’re not, at least not all of them. And if she did have external, separate genitals as you said, then those are clearly mammalian traits. It could be possible that Dragons, or at the very least Horntails, are what would be called Mammal-like reptiles: Reptiles with mammalian traits, though usually that’s more subtle, like milk glands, or fur, or warm-blooded metabolism.”

Harry thought for a moment, then shrugged, “Maybe worth researching, I guess.”

She nodded, “I agree. Now take the open invitation I’m blatantly giving you, and get that hand between my legs and _finger me!” _She whisper-growled.

-=-=-=-

Later that day, just after lunch, Hermione wandered the corridors in a sort of daze, she’d just come out of lunch, and her mind seemed to be only half functional. The arousal she’d been experiencing lately round about meal-times seemed to be getting worse. She’d actually staggered out of the Great Hall after lunch, saying she needed to use the bathroom, but that was just to get away from everyone, as she felt like she’d pounce on the next person she ran into and maul them.

It would not do her reputation any good for her to be seen making out with random students. Once again, she found herself cursing Draco, the curse, and her cycle.

Unfortunately, fate seemed to have it in for her that day.

“Hermione?” A voice asked behind her. She stopped, closed her eyes and grit her teeth. It was Susan. She turned to look at the other girl, and instantly regretted it.

The sight of Susan’s full lips, her kind eyes, her round face, and the prominent forms of her large breasts that weren’t quite hidden under her robes drew Hermione’s attention, and she felt her own breasts tingle in response, felt her clitoris _throb_ painfully between her labia, and felt her knickers get uncomfortably wet, as she felt her pussy _pulse_ with desire for the other girl, in time with her heartbeat.

“Are you okay?” The red-head asked, coming closer.

Hermione started to pant with lust as the girl got closer, and she stumbled a little, almost losing her balance as her higher brain functions seemed to momentarily shut down, and all she could think about was kissing the other girl’s full lips, squeezing and exploring her luscious breasts, and seeing if she was as smooth as Hermione herself was.

“Hey Susan...” Hermione said, her greeting coming out as a sensual purr.

Susan raised an eyebrow as she came to a stop in front of her friend. Perfect.

“Are you alri-mmMMPH!” Her question was interrupted by Hermione suddenly reaching forward and grabbing her, turning her and pushing her back against a wall, before pressing her own body against the Hufflepuff’s, a shiver of pleasure running through her as she did so.

Susan was taken completely off guard, which meant her reactions were slowed down, which allowed Hermione’s hands to start exploring as she pressed her mouth to her friend’s, pushing her tongue into the other girl’s mouth.

Caught completely by surprise, Susan moaned by reflex and gripped her friend’s shoulders to push her back, then she felt Hermione trap one of her legs between her own thighs, then she started to erratically grind against her leg.

‘_Oh Morgana’s saggy tits! What is she _doing?!’

Both were so distracted by what was happening, that neither noticed the Slytherin girl watching them from down the corridor, smirking as she hid behind a wall outcrop.

This was very interesting, very interesting indeed.

-=-=-=-

Later, after Dinner, Harry stepped into the Hospital wing, feeling exhausted. He hadn’t fed all day, and although Susan and Daphne had approached him, he’d declined their offers to feed him, saying that he felt he needed to get to know them better as they were not in the same house. The girls had seemed a little disappointed, but had accepted his logic.

He’d finally decided to stop feeding from other girls, as he felt that he honestly couldn’t keep it up. He felt like a vampire, or parasite. With Hermione, it was different, as she was getting as much as he was. And while he’d fed from Luna, like with Parvati, something had just felt…_off, _he didn’t get the rush from them that he did from Hermione_. _Sure, he’d still tasted the same thing, but the fatigue and hunger hadn’t really faded as he’d expected it to. Almost as if…it wasn’t working as it should.

Now here he was, waiting from Pomfrey. He looked around, trying to remember how many times he’d been in the ward, but honestly couldn’t count.

“Mister Potter, what can I do for you?” Poppy asked as she walked through the door, drawing her wand.

“I...I was wondering if you had anything in the way of stamina potions?” He asked a little nervously. Pomfrey raised an eyebrow.

“May I ask what for Mister Potter? You aren’t having any..._issues_, are you?” She asked as she started running diagnostic charms on him.

“Well, no. It’s just that, I was wondering if there was another way I could keep my strength up.”

Pomfrey paused and regarded him, taking note of the readings that were slightly off.

“I’m not sure Pepper-Up potions will help you Mister Potter, I believe that book Miss Greengrass brought was quite clear on that.”

Harry groaned in frustration. “There has to be _something_ you can give me.”

Pomfrey sighed and put away her wand.

“I’m not going to talk you out of this, am I?”

Harry shook his head.

“There _has_ to be another option for me and Hermione.”

Pomfrey paused, considering what he’d said. She regarded him sadly, not sure if there was anything she could do to help, the book had been quite clear: Stamina boosting potions and spells would not help him or Hermione keep their strength up, or stop them deteriorating. Only one thing would, for not at least, perhaps.

But she got the impression Harry didn’t want to use that option anymore, if it came to him getting what he needed from anyone other than his girlfriend.

‘_It makes sense, the poor boy probably feels he’s not being faithful to her, and she’s been one of his most loyal supporters for years.’_

“What’s really bothering you Harry?” She asked.

Harry shook his head as he started to pace, looking frustrated, with himself or his situation, she wasn’t sure.

“I feel like a parasite! I’m ‘feeding’ from these girls, taking from them, to survive, and they’re not getting anything in exchange!” He ranted. She raised a brow.

“Not getting anything? How so? Considering what you have to do, I imagine they’re definitely getting _something_ out of it.” She pointed out.

“You know what I mean. With Hermione, its different.”

“How so?”

“With Hermione, we’re both getting what we need, it’s equal give and take. I know she said she’s ok with me getting ‘help’, but I can tell she’s not. She’s chosen not to feed from anyone else. So why should I?”

Pomfrey didn’t say anything, she just waited for him to continue. When it became apparent he was waiting for a response, she pursed her lips and thought carefully.

“I honestly can’t think of any reason why you should, baring the fact that Hermione was only thinking of your comfort. She could have easily not made any arrangements for you this week. But she did, because she cares.”

Harry nodded. “I know, I know. Well, hopefully, once she starts producing milk, which will probably be soon, this ‘arrangement’ will be a moot point.”

“Perhaps.”

“Her cycle started Sunday, so it should end tomorrow or Thursday, surely you can give me something to tide me over ‘til then?” He asked. She sighed.

“As I said, I doubt there’s much I can do, but it seems to me you’re not going to leave until you get what you came for.” And with that, against her professional judgment, she turned and walked towards a cabinet, and returned with several vials of potion.

“Have either your or Hermione experienced anything else unusual recently?” She asked.

Harry uncorked one of the vials and downed the potion, steeling himself as he felt its effects wash over him, but to his mounting frustration, he didn’t feel the fatigue, hunger or arousal he was feeling fade.

“Well, I have been getting more, urm...well...” he paused, not quite sure how to voice his recent findings.

“Yes?” She asked, “Don’t worry Harry, Doctor Patient Confidentiality is in effect. This conversation won’t go outside this room.”

Relaxing slightly, Harry sucked in a breath and held it, before letting it out. “I’ve been getting horny round about mealtimes, well, _hornier._ I think Hermione has too, but she’s not said anything, and I didn’t ask, I just noticed it since when she ‘feeds’ after meals, over the past couple of days she’s been more..._enthusiastic_ lets say.” He blushed at his next words.

“I felt for sure she was trying to swallow either my dick or suck my testicles out through it last time, she was that…_insistent.”_

Pomfrey frowned.

“Why didn’t you bring this to my attention sooner?” She asked, running another diagnostic on him. He shrugged.

“I mean, it could be part of the curse, right?”

“That is a possibility, but still, it’s a change we didn’t account for. From now on, I want you and Hermione to report anything you consider unusual to me or Professor McGonagall as soon as you notice it, alright?”

Harry thought for a moment, then nodded.

“Alright. How do I check out?” He asked.

“Hm, your levels are getting low again. I really wish you’d reconsider. The fact that there has been a noticeable decline in your condition means I am obligated, by medical ethics, by school regulation and by law, to inform at least your Head of House.”

Harry winced, he figured as much, then shook his head. “I’ll be fine.” He said, heading for the door. “And thanks.”

Pomfrey watched him go, sighing sadly. The potion hadn’t worked, just as she warned him it wouldn’t. She only hoped he wouldn’t come back for more. She had to tell Minerva.

_ **Wednesday November 30, 1994.** _

_ **Early Morning, Private Quarters, Gryffindor Tower.** _

Harry was brought out of his pleasant warm sleep by the wonderful feeling of his girlfriend’s tongue slowly and leisurely licking his balls.

He did his best to not react, trying to keep his breathing calm and even, as if he were still asleep, but it became increasingly difficult when she licked up the underside of his shaft, until she reached the tip, where she gently kissed and licked his frenulum, before taking the very tip of his crown in her lips and suckling gently, before going back down to where she’d started, and resumed worshiping his balls.

He wasn’t sure how he didn’t groan when she gently sucked one into her mouth.

‘_Does she know I’m awake? Or is she trying to wake me up? Damn...either her penchant for fast learning extended to sex, or the curse gave her some kind of innate skill, or she’s just always been a natural at this...’_ he thought.

He finally lost his battle with the moan he’d been holding back when Hermione sucked _both_ of his testicles into her mouth and started to lick and suckle them, while her hand closed around his hard shaft and she started gently stroking.

“_Mmmm...”_ she hummed, alternating between gentle suction, and slow licks as she traced over the orbs resting against the back of her lower teeth. Idly, her still-half asleep mind wondered at the taste, and she began to wonder if the curse was affecting her perception of not only the taste of Harry’s semen, but his actual _body_ now; because now, her taste buds were telling her that she was licking and sucking Cauldron Cake, but she clearly had his balls in her mouth.

As her mind woke up a little more, she moved up his shaft again, kissing and licking it, before tracing her tongue round the ridge of his crown, before she started to lick it hungrily.

This time, he moved, squirming and thrusting his hips up a little.

Yep, something had definitely changed.

“Morning.” She said quietly, catching a drop of precum on her tongue, following it up with a kiss.

“Mm...Morning.” He sighed with a smile, pulling back the covers to look down at her, reaching down to run his fingers through her hair as she started to rub her face against his shaft, almost like a cat.

“It’s different now...”

“What is?”

“The taste.”

“Hmm?” He hummed in inquiry, as she ran his tip over her lips as if she were applying lipstick with it.

“Your penis and balls, they taste different this morning. The same as your cum does.”

Harry raised an eyebrow, curiously. “Did the book mention that?”

“Hm, not really. But I suppose it makes sense. The change in taste is supposed to to be an incentive to keep doing it, so it would make sense that the perception of the taste of skin would also change. Have you noticed anything with the...others?”

“Not really, I only really noticed a taste change when they came, but their actual bodies? No.” He replied, thinking. The last girl he’d fed from had been Luna, and she’d tasted like, well, Luna.

“Hm, maybe it’ll happen soon with you as well then.” Then she giggled, “Hm, eating pussy that tastes like your favorite food _before_ the girl it’s attached to cums.” She idly thought back to the day before, when she’d cornered and made out with Susan, her face flushing.

‘_Where the hell had _THAT_ come from? I need to talk to her. God, I hope no one saw us!’_ She thought.

She _still_ could not believe what she’d done to Susan in the corridor. She’d practically _molested_ her friend!

Her traitorous mind played the sordid details of that encounter over again, and she recalled how she’d kissed, groped and ground against her buxom friend until finally she’d drawn back to take a breath, and Susan had asked her what was going on, and she’d snapped out of her delirium.

A cold sweat had come over her and she’d backed away from Susan as if she’d been electrocuted, then, white faced and panicking, she’d blubbered an apology, before turning and _running_, ignoring Susan’s call for her to stop as tears of humiliation had fallen from her eyes_._

“Speaking of...” he said, an inquisitive note in his tone.

“Sorry baby, still out of commission.” Came the apology. And from the sound of her voice, she was _really_ unhappy about that.

“Any idea when?” He asked. Hermione thought for a moment, sitting up a little, letting him get a full view of her creamy, firm and perky breasts.

“Well, if not later today, then it should be done tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll start producing milk soon, and if that can supplement your new ‘diet’, then you shouldn’t have to rely on others from next month on.”

‘_Hopefully.’_ he thought. He was still feeling tired, _dead_ tired, like he had the Saturday after they’d been cursed, but not quite as bad, for some reason. He still felt like he could walk, though if he recalled, he’d felt that strong the previous Saturday.

The potion he’d taken in the infirmary hadn’t worked, just as the book and Pomfrey had warned him, but he didn’t care. He refused to feed from anyone but Hermione now. Had what he said to Pomfrey been stupid? Maybe, but still, he couldn’t help feeling like he was just using them for his own benefit, the fact they got screaming orgasms out of it was immaterial, right?

Hermione seemed to pause for a moment, a thoughtful look on her face.

“Have you noticed any feelings in your mind lately?”

“Feelings?” He asked.

“You know, like a presence, or feeling that you know isn’t your own mind?”

He thought for a moment. He hadn’t sensed Voldemort for a few days now, nor had he had any dreams about the bastard, which was a plus. Usually, when ever he got a feeling from Voldemort, it was a sense of coldness, anger, hatred. But...

Now that he thought about it, he _could_ feel _something_ on the very edge of his mind, but he couldn’t quite ‘reach’ it, but what ever it was, it didn’t feel malevolent or cold, it felt...warm, friendly even.

“Yeah, I can, sort of. You?”

She nodded. “Yes, I first noticed it last night. If I’m right, it’s the earliest stages of the telepathic/empathic link that forms during the Bonding process. I didn’t think it would be this soon though.”

“How fast do you think it’ll develop? And just how..._connected_ will we be?”

“We’ll be able to communicate telepathically, probably over any distance, and we’ll be able to find each other, no matter where each of us is. As for how long it’ll take, and in what order it’ll form? How long is a piece of string? Same with the Bond and when I’ll start lactating. With this curse being a factor, it could happen any time.”

“Then it’s just a question of waiting then.” He said. She nodded.

“Pretty much, now, don’t distract me, I’ve got a job to finish.” And with that, she lowered her head and engulfed him.

-=-=-=-

Draco sat on his bed as he leafed through the book he’d taken from McGonagall’s office during the weekend, while she’d been gone. Breaking into her office had _not_ been easy, fortunately, his father had taught him a few things to help him get into places where he wasn’t necessarily allowed to be.

He was going over the _Gift_ curse again, memorizing it’s incantation, as well as reading up on a few other curses. Yes, he was _definitely_ going to use the Breast Engorgement curse at some point, though, he reasoned, Bones didn’t need it, she was already carrying a nice pair of pumpkins on her rib cage, though Daphne and Granger could probably do with being bigger.

Well, until their breasts exploded, anyway.

A painful and messy way to die yes, and a real shame to destroy what would probably be rather nice breasts, but still, one was a Mudblood, and the other, his own personal plaything, not that she remembered any of it.

He briefly considered using the spell that would give him an extra penis, so he could make both Daphne _and_ Bones, or Granger, suck him off at the same time, but then thought better of it. One of the apparent caveats of that spell was, according to the text, reduced ‘fuse’ so to speak. He wouldn’t last as long, and Draco decided that he wanted to draw out any encounter for as long as he’d be able to enjoy it.

He thought back to what Parkinson had told him the night before, about what she’d seen.

Granger cornering and groping Susan, even kissing her, rather passionately.

That had been something he had not anticipated, he didn’t particularly care if Granger fancied girls as well as guys, he just couldn’t remember any instance where she hinted at that over the past few years.

He’d also been informed of Susan and Daphne hanging out with Potter, though whether they’d let him feed from them or not, he didn’t know. He grit his teeth. It was bad enough that Greengrass, a girl who portrayed a cold ice-queen exterior to the rest of the school, would be so friendly with the number one enemy of every decent Pure Blood in the school...

_Worse_, she was _potentially_ even helping keep the scar-faced bastard alive! She’d have to be reminded of her place, Susan and Granger would also have to be made an example of...yes...

All he had to do was wait for the right time.

-=-=-=-

_ **Charms Classroom.** _

“Alright children, since Mister Potter was able to demonstrate perfect use of the Summoning charm during the first Task, I think it is necessary for the rest of you to practice it today, as well as it’s counter, the Banishing Charm.” Professor Flitwick said as he stood on his stack of books behind his desk, observing his Fourth Year students.

What followed had been an exercise in chaos, with objects flying everywhere as students tried to successfully cast the Summoning charm.

Neville struggled the most, barely able to summon the pillow across his desk, Ron was only slightly better at it.

When it came to practicing the Banishing charm, _Depulso,_ Neville was barely able to move his pillow across his desk.

The most exciting, and potentially hazardous thing that happened, was when Harry tried the charm.

Unfortunately, he misjudged just how powerful he’d gotten over the last week, since unknowingly performing the power boosting ritual on himself.

He aimed his wand at the white pillow on his desk, intending to banish it off the desk and across to Flitwick’s.

“_Depulso!”_

No one in the classroom was entirely sure what happened next, but only Hermione’s quick reflexes potentially saved Flitwick’s life.

Not only did the pillow launch itself from Harry’s desk and fly towards Flitwick so fast the short Professor was barely able to track it with his eyes, but Harry’s _desk_ was also sent flying towards him.

By the time Flitwick realized Harry’s desk was hurtling towards him at worryingly high velocity, it was nearly upon him. If he didn’t dive out of the way, or otherwise stop it, there was a good chance it would kill him on impact, or at the very least, land him in the hospital wing or St Mungo’s.

“_Arresto Momentum!” _Hermione yelled, wand aimed at the desk, stopping it mid-flight, just a few inches short of crashing into Flitwick’s desk and potentially crushing him.

Harry stared slack-jawed at his desk as it hovered in the air. At the table to his left, Hermione stood, her wand arm extended as she breathed heavily with the amount of effort she put into her spell.

Flitwick stumbled backwards and almost fell off the pile of books he stood on. He then used his wand to cancel Hermione’s spell and levitate the desk back to where it should be. He then smiled at his class, trying not to let show how frazzled he was.

“Well, I appreciate your diligence to your work Mister Potter.” He said, smiling a little, the rest of the students, who had started to recover from the show of almost seeing their Professor getting flattened, chuckled.

Harry’s face was white, his eyes wide.

“I...uh...” he said, not quite sure how to explain himself. He had no idea what had just happened, he honestly hadn’t meant to throw his table at one of his favorite teachers. If it had been Snape, then fine, but not Flitwick.

“Please try to exercise a little more restraint in the future Mister Potter. Miss Granger, 10 Points to Gryffindor for your quick reflexes and quick thinking.”

Harry looked down in shame, then to his left at Hermione, who was looking at him with a questioning but stern gaze. He smiled sheepishly.

-=-=-=-

Later that evening, after dinner, Hermione found herself wandering through the halls, her body moving as if on autopilot, she was barely aware of anything other than the burning, almost _painful_ heat and…_pulsing_…between her legs.

She’d lost track of how many times she’d climaxed already today, it seemed she was almost on a hair-trigger now, the slightest caress or stroke from another living being would set her off into a quivering, whimpering wreck.

She’d also lost count of how many times she’d had to apply a drying and cleaning charm to both her legs, skirt and knickers, though now, she’d given up trying.

It had slowly gotten worse since Sunday, it had been annoying at first, then tolerable by late Monday/earlier the previous day, but now…?

She grit her teeth as she staggered up a flight of stairs, thankfully ones that did not move, as she soon found herself on the seventh floor, heading towards Gryffindor Tower, that was, thankfully, deserted for the moment.

Because if she ran into any of the Gryffindor boys, or girls…

If she had still been capable of thinking rationally, she might have realized she needed to go to see Madam Pomfrey. Had she still been thinking rationally, she would have decided to go take a long cold shower, preferably in liquid oxygen.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t thinking rationally. She was only consciously aware of two things:

One. She was more desperate and aroused that she could ever recall being before she got cursed.

Two. She _needed_ to be fucked. A tongue, even a magic one like Harry’s wasn’t going to cut it anymore. She needed something more substantial than a tongue. She needed a dick.

‘_One in particular...’_ she thought as she stumbled to the tapestry of the dancing Trolls, and started pacing.

Through the lust-filled haze clouding her mind, she managed to form a coherent thought, that would tell the room what she wanted, while the rest of her mind was being filled with images of naked bodies, only visible from the shoulders down, both male and female.

Had she still been able to think rationally, she would have argued with herself; protested, and denied that she did not have any bisexual leanings, tendencies or curiosity, but everything lower than her sternum and higher than her knees didn’t really care. And in her current state, she did not care who or even _what_ the room created, as long as it was able to _fuck her._

The door finally appeared and she almost ripped it off it’s hinges as she opened it.

The room had taken on the appearance of a forest clearing, a waterfall a short distance away fed down into a small pool, which fed a small stream that led off into the distance. The pool was wide and deep enough to swim, but she had no intention of swimming today. The rest of the clearing was a wide space, grass under her feet, surrounded by trees, and a light warm breeze blowing.

In the center of the clearing, were several figures, all either naked or half naked. They all turned to face her, and she felt her nipples and breasts tingle almost painfully in anticipation, and she actually whimpered with need as she felt her clitoris _throb _with need.

“_Nngh...”_ she moaned, her hands going to her breasts and squeezing them as she then started to frantically tear her clothes off, her body trembling as a climax washed over her.

‘_Finally!’_ was the last thing she thought as her mind finally gave in to the lust clouding it.

-=-

Harry was also idly walking through the halls, and like Hermione, he didn’t feel so good, but not for the same reasons. A few more girls had approached him, but he’d turned them all down, and as expected, they’d all been disappointed. Thankfully, Ginny had not tried to make a move on him a second time. In fact, he was pretty sure her brothers had gone out of their way to make sure she wasn’t left alone with him, if she managed to get near him, which she’d tried to do, but had failed. And if the look on her face last time he’d seen her was any indication, she was _NOT_ happy about that.

Luna had tried again, but he had declined, rather insistently. Susan and Daphne had also approached him again, with offers to help him this time, rather than just talk, but he had declined as politely as he could manage. Even though doing so had been very difficult, with Susan’s rather obvious attempts to sway him by making sure her cleavage was clearly on display.

Daphne had not been so blatant, but he had definitely seen the look in her eyes. Parvati had also come for a second round, along with Padma, but again, he’d turned them down, saying he’d found an alternate solution. The two had quizzed him, eventually figuring out what he was doing, and had warned him that it wasn’t going to work, and that once it failed, Hermione was going to be very upset with him.

He’d just have to grin and bare it, and try and keep up his strength as much as possible. As he remembered, after their initial cursing, by the third day, Sunday, he and Hermione had barely been able to move, but by the second day, Saturday, they had still been able to, if he remembered right. So the way he figured it, he had until Friday before his plan potentially failed, but by then, Hermione’s cycle would hopefully be over, so it’d be a none-issue.

He paused, thinking, deciding that some training was in order, after all, using Parseltongue during oral sex was supposed to give him a power boost, right? And he had noticed in class that his spells had been more powerful of late. His mind went back to his first successful use of the summoning charm, and how he’d buried himself alive, and during the Task, he’d intended to create a small wall to hide from the Dragon, but had ended up recreating something that resembled a section of the wall of Troy, or maybe a castle’s wall.

His mind made up, he decided to head towards the Room of Requirement.

Pausing for a moment, he reached into his robes and pulled out the map, which he’d decided to stash on his person earlier in the day, just so he’d always have it with him.

Activating it, he scanned the map of the castle. He couldn’t see Hermione anywhere, which either meant she wasn’t on the grounds, which was unlikely, or she was somewhere that was unplottable. And as far as he knew, there was only two areas in the castle the map didn’t pick out: The Room of Requirement, and the Chamber of Secrets.

He was just about to shut off the map and fold it up when he noticed a few things. In Moody’s office, there was a name that said _‘Barty Crouch Jr’_.

Mr Crouch’s son? Wasn’t he in Azkaban? Or dead? And where was Moody?

Then something else caught his attention.

Several floors down, in an isolated corridor, was Daphne Greengrass, surrounding her were several name-tags; Malfoy, Bulstrode, Parkinson, Crabbe, Goyle…and Snape, a short distance away.

He scowled. Not just at what was potentially happening to one of Hermione’s friends, but the fact that Snape was close enough to at least hear what was going on, or see it at the very least, and wasn’t doing anything.

‘_He’s waiting.’_ He thought, _‘He’s waiting for a student, maybe even me, to come along and break it up, so he can step in and play his part as a Professor, and issue detentions. To the wrong people. Fuck you, Snivellus.’_

Harry scanned the map, looking for anyone near by who might be able to help him.

He noticed Professor Sinistra, one floor up from Daphne, on the Fifth Floor, and on the Sixth, two Ravenclaw Prefects, Cedric Diggory and Marcus Turner.

Turning, he closed the Map and hid it back inside his robes but did not shut it off, he ran for the closest stair case.

It took him a few minutes to catch up with the two Prefects, and when he did, he was panting and sweating.

Cedric and Marcus turned as they heard footfalls coming towards them, rapidly.

Cedric raised an eyebrow as he saw Harry running towards them, looking red-faced and panting.

“You OK there Harry?” he asked.

“No…Time…” he panted, “Daphne Greengrass…in trouble, Fourth Floor, Professor Sinistra is on the Fifth, find her and meet me on the Fourth.”

Before either Prefect could say anything, Harry turned and ran off again, the two shared a look.

“What makes him think a Slytherin is in trouble? And how does he know where Sinistra is?” Marcus asked, Cedric shrugged.

“No idea, but I don’t think he’s pulling one on us, come on.”

-=-=-=-

“Over the table you two.” Draco’s voice drifted down the corridor, sending a chill up Harry’s spine... and a surge of fire in his gut. He quickly checked the Map again, Cedric and Marcus had met up with Sinistra, and all three were making their way done towards them, Snape was still there, now outside the disused Classroom Draco and his cohorts had dragged Daphne into.

He was close enough to hear Daphne pleading now, “No, No! Get off me you filthy ape! NO! I said let me go!”

“Oi, Pansy! Gag this bitch!” he heard Draco snap.

“No—” Daphne was cut off, but the sounds of a struggle could still be heard.

Harry didn’t see Snape as he approached the door to the classroom, but that only meant the bastard was hiding. The Map still said he was there.

Finding the door wasn’t fully closed, or even locked, Harry slowly pushed it open, so as not to alert those inside. What he saw made him want to kill every other Slytherin in the room.

Daphne was being held face down onto a table by Crabbe and Goyle, her legs held open and her skirt thrown up over her back. There was no sign of her underwear, but then Harry saw a scrap of white fabric sticking out of her mouth. Her cheeks were glistening with tears.

Pansy Parkinson and Milicent Bulstrode were standing close by her head, grinning. Pansy appeared to be resting a hand on her belly while the other was pinning one of Daphne’s hands down, while Milicent had the other one.

And Draco was standing directly behind Daphne, between her legs. His hands were already gripping her hips, and he seemed to be taking a moment to relish the moment.

A cold fury exploded within Harry, and his wand snapped up. _“Stupefy!”_ he snarled, sending a red bolt shooting out across the room to slam into Bulstrode. The Slytherin girl was thrown back into a wall, out cold even before she struck it.

Three heads snapped up to look at him, while Draco spun around. Even before he registered his opened pants, and his cock sticking out, Harry had already sent a second spell out, this one striking Pansy. She too was propelled backwards to collapse onto the floor.

“What? Potter! Get him!” Draco cried. Harry however was faster, and in seconds both Goyle and Crabbe joined the girls on the floor. Draco took a moment to collect himself, before his own wand came up, only to pause as Harry stepped forward, the tip of his own wand aimed right between Draco’s eyes.

“Go ahead Malfoy, _give_ me an excuse. I’d love to, I really would.” He growled.

“You wouldn’t dare. You don’t have it in you.” Draco said, though his bravado was beginning to slip, his face going pale. Harry’s eyes flicked up and down, before pausing at a certain spot, his face twisting in a derisive snort.

“Oh yeah? How much you willing to bet, _Ferret._ And if _that_ is the end result of keeping the Malfoy Bloodline _pure_, then I guess it explains why you don’t have any brothers or sisters. I honestly wonder what Parkinson sees in you, after all, I doubt she’s shagging you for your brains, or looks. _Expelliarmus!_”

Draco’s face went even whiter, an impressive feat, as his wand went sailing from his hand, and he moved his hands to cover himself. Not a hard task in itself, as his rather puny member was wilting to an even smaller form.

A clatter of footsteps came from the corridor, forestalling any other actions. Professor Sinistra was the first to enter, with Cedric and Marcus flanking her. Sinistra gasped sharply at the sight before her, while Cedric’s eyes widened sharply before he moved forward, shoving Draco aside to kneel down by Daphne, who was still crying.

Sinistra looked around at the unconscious Slytherins, then back to Draco, whose trousers were threatening to fall down. As she took in the placement of his hands, the open flies and the look on his face, Sinistra’s darkened. Daphne Greengrass was her favourite student. Pure fury pulsed through her veins as she pointed at him and snarled.

“You will not be returning after the Christmas break, Mister Malfoy.” She hissed, causing what little colour that was left in his face to vanish. “And do your trousers up!”

As Draco complied, Harry wondered where Snape had got to, usually the greasy git picked about now to show up and start handing out detentions to everyone but Draco. Harry suspected that Professor Sinistra’s intervention forced him to change tactic.

“Professor, I noticed Snape hanging round this area, not sure why he didn’t intervene, or why he hasn’t shown up yet.” Harry said, noting the slightly frantic look on Draco’s face, and the look of betrayal on Daphne’s.

“I did not see him Mister Potter.” Sinistra said, moving to help Daphne up.

“He likes to hide under concealment charms and wait until the right moment to pop up and make it look like a competent teacher doing his job, usually giving detentions to the victims of what ever engagement Draco cooked up.”

Sinistra raised an eyebrow, Harry got the impression she didn’t quite believe him.

“Mister Diggory, Mister Potter, look after Miss Greengrass. Mister Turner, gather these..._students’_ wands, and follow me.” It was clear that the normally polite and softly spoken Professor wanted to say something much harsher. She flicked her wand and muttered a spell, conjuring a piece of parchment which she wrote a message on, then with another flick of her wand, it folded up and flew out the door. She then started reviving the other Slytherins, much as she wished she didn’t have to. From the fire in her eyes, it was clear she wanted to use some other forms of magic on them. Such as potentially lethal hexes.

“You’ll regret this, Scarhead!” Draco whispered harshly, thinking Sinistra couldn’t hear him. “You’ll pay for this...and will your _slut_ lesbo-Mudblood!” He glared at Harry, his eyes flicking to Cedric for a moment, who glared back at him.

“_MISTER MALFOY!”_ Sinistra snapped, whirling around. “You will keep a civil tongue in that mouth! That will be two hundred points from Slytherin! And three hundred points, plus four months detention with Flitch or Professor Hagrid each, for assaulting and attempting to rape a fellow student!” She turned back as the other Slytherins began to protest.

“Quiet, or I’ll see you all expelled!” Her sharp tone was made worse by her own internal frustration. She personally thought that each and every one of these…these…monsters, should be sent straight to Azkaban. But the Headmaster had set limits for punishments years ago, and only he could exceed them. Expelling a student was at his discretion, as was informing the DMLE. The only time that was usually over-ridden was in the event of a student’s death, and thankfully, that had not happened since Myrtle Warren.

Though that did not stop other professors from trying. There had been several instances like this reported to the staff over the years, but she suspected, and had for some time, that it was more wide-spread, but with Dumbledore’s stead-fast refusal to get the DMLE involved, they could do nothing. It was only a matter of time before Amelia Bones decided she’d had enough, and stepped in anyway, Dumbledore’s rule be damned. Apparently, the last time something serious enough to bring in the DMLE had happened, it had involved one Remus Lapin, Sirius Black and Serverus Snape. McGonagall had tried for years to change his mind, but he’d remained unbending.

As she turned to head out the door, Sinistra turned to Harry and said, “And Mister Potter, that will be 250 points to Gryffindor for your quick thinking, and quick response alerting myself and two Prefects. Though I would like to know _how_ you knew what was going on in here, and where we all were.”

Harry thought quickly, he really didn’t want to tell her about the Map, especially with Malfoy and his lackeys glaring at him venomously.

“A painting told me, I forgot which one.” He said, hoping she’d buy it. It was clear from the look on Draco’s face that he didn’t. Professor Sinistra scrutinized him a little longer, before nodding.

“Alright Mister Potter, now you two go on and help Miss Greengrass, Mister Turner and I will deal with this lot.” Then she turned and left.

Taking the bundle of wands from Marcus in her free hand, Sinistra looked coldly at the Slytherins, venom dripping from her voice. “Come along now. We’ll see what the Headmaster has to say...” She glanced over to Harry, “You may need to submit your memories over this incident, Mister Potter.” She spoke softly.

He nodded silently. Daphne was still for a moment, before nodding jerkily. Satisfied, Sinistra directed the detained students away, gesturing for Turner to come with her. As they walked away Harry turned back to Daphne. “You okay?”

“Now, yes.” Was the shaky reply. As Cedric wrapped a comforting arm around her, she looked up curiously. “How did you find me?”

Harry paused, before opening his robes and pulling out the map, unfolding it, he showed it to them, and they both watched, wide-eyed, as the tags bearing the names of the Slytherins, Marcus Turner and Professor Sinistra could be seen heading away from the room they were in.

“Nice. An interactive map that tracks people in real-time. Where’d you get it?” Cedric asked.

“Family Heirloom.” He said, muttering the code to deactivate the map, which he then folded back up and put back in his robes.

“I suggest you be very careful who you let see that. Some might try to steal it.” Cedric said, “If that thing shows the real-time locations of everyone in the castle, and every room, it could be a potential security risk.”

“Well, I’m not complaining.” Daphne said, as she gave Cedric and hug and a peck on the cheek, before she turned to Harry and hugged him, only he didn’t get a peck on the cheek, he got a full French kiss.

“Mmmph!” he grunted as he felt her tongue push against his lips, and he opened his mouth on pure reflex. His eyes flicked left, to look over her shoulder at a smirking Cedric as she held his head steady.

“Sooo…Should I go find Hermione or…?”

Right…Hermione…

“Why don’t you go on Cedric, I’m sure Harry can help me get to the Hospital wing OK, right Harry?” Daphne said with a smirk.

“OK, if you’re sure.” Cedric said, as he left, giving Harry a wink.

Once he was gone, Daphne stepped forward and hugged him again, this time, she whispered into his ear in a low tone that sent his blood flow haywire, and resulted in her moaning in approval and secret delight at the hard length of flesh that was suddenly pressing against her right thigh.

“Thank you. I know Hermione said to keep my mouth, boobs and fanny off of your Broom Stick, but I’m sure she wouldn’t mind me rewarding you for saving me by using my hands? Or maybe, it’s time you get a sample of what the Greengrass family has been cultivating?” taking one of his hands, she slipped it under the waist-band of her skirt and down, and Harry sucked in a breath and stiffened as his fingers glided over a pair of warm, smooth and pliant lips.

“Um…Considering what you’ve just been through, you sure that’s a good idea? Let’s just get you to Pomfrey.” He said, his voice coming in a tight squeak as she pressed his fingers into her slit, which was growing damp.

“Alright. Though I didn’t mean right this minute. Don’t think you’re getting out of getting a reward Potter. I _always_ repay my debts.” She said as she let him go.

“You don’t owe me anything.” He replied.

-=-

After escorting Daphne to the Hospital wing and leaving her in the tender care of Madam Pomfrey, Harry ducked out quickly, and found a secluded alcove where he pulled out the map again. Once again, he couldn’t find Hermione, which meant she could only be in one place. But he _did _see Sinistra, Draco and Co, and Snape in Dumbledore’s office.

Making his way there, he found what he expected to see; a wooden door, he quickly opened it and stepped inside, but he was not prepared for what greeted him.

In a grassy forest clearing, with a waterfall, pond and river in the distance, was Hermione. She was naked, and on her knees, next to someone. No, she was _surrounded_ by many someones.

Harry stopped short as his brain caught up with what his eyes were seeing, and he fully took in what he was seeing.

Hermione was surrounded, by several people, not all of them human, but all seemed to bare his face, at least, that’s what he could tell when they all, except Hermione, turned to look at him.

If he were honest with himself, it was creepy as hell.

One, the one Hermione was kneeling next to and moaning while she masturbated, both herself and the copy of him, was a freaking _centaur._

From the waist up, it looked like him, right down to the lean muscle he’d got from running around the school the last few years, and all that Quidditch, but from the waist down, it was the body of a horse: a barrel shaped body covered in short black hair with clear lines of muscle underneath, a black swishing tail. Judging by it’s, _his_ height, his back would be roughly level with Hermione’s chest when she stood up, which meant he was tall enough for her to get under him and…

He quickly drew his eyes away to the rest of the group, and yes, they were _all_ copies of him in some for or another.

One looked like an Olympic bodybuilder, he honestly wanted to laugh at the utter ridiculousness of his double having such a build at only 14 or 15. Since when did _any_ teenage guy have a _six pack?_ Though he did look strong enough to beat Malfoy to a bloody pulp.

The third was…wait, was that a _wolf?_ A wolf with his green eyes and what looked like a white scar over it’s right one.

The fourth was similar to the second in terms of build, only his eyes were _blue_, not green, and the scar on his forehead was completely gone, his hair, which was in a small ponytail, had blonde streaks in it, and in his right hand, he held a strange looking two-handed broad sword, one Harry had never seen before, with an ornately designed cross-guard and hilt.

And all of them were naked.

Hermione hadn’t noticed him yet, she was too busy kissing and licking the tip of Centaur-Harry’s shaft, which, the real Harry noticed, was roughly the same width as his, with a tip that matched his exactly, well, minus the foreskin. But the length, he figured that was normal for an adolescent horse, or Centaur. Not that he was an expert on that sort of thing.

Despite himself, Harry felt himself blushing, if he were honest, he felt rather weird looking at these copies of himself, sure, exaggerated, in many ways, but still him. He took another step forward as Hermione’s mouth closed around the head of the cock she was stroking and she moaned, which made the Centaur Harry above her groan.

The real Harry watched, almost transfixed, as Hermione slowly moved her head up, taking more of the pink shaft into her mouth, until her eyes closed and her throat started to visibly bulge.

‘_Merlin…how much of that is she taking? How is she still _breathing?!’

By his estimate, she’d already taken nearly 5 or 6 of what he was guessing where 12 inches, at _least_, any more and she’d probably choke, he could already see her face flushing red from effort. She then sucked in another breath, and pulled more of the shaft in, her head moving up it’s length, closer to his body as she turned her head, moaning deeply and shuddering as the penis slid slowly down her throat, her breathing becoming labored.

“Oh god…” the centaur facsimile moaned, yep, that was _definitely_ his voice.

“What about us?” one of the others asked, in response, Hermione reached back and patted her upturned bum. Harry was surprised to see the wolf step forward first, and start to lick his girlfriend’s offered rump, which made her moan and wiggle her hips. As strange as this was, Harry decided that his girlfriend needed to breathe, and what he was seeing had raised questions.

“I think I’ll take it from here guys.” He said, stepping forward, and with a wave of his wand, stripped himself. The wolf whined, before tentatively delivering one lick right between the cheeks of Hermione’s ass, making her moan again, pushing her hips back a little, the wolf went in for another pass but Harry stepped up, putting a hand on it’s shoulder and pulling it back gently.

Hermione moaned a third time, and started to pull away, the wet, glistening shaft eventually fell from her mouth along with a stream of saliva as she gasped, taking in a huge gulp of air, as she turned back to look at him, her face red, her eyes dark with lust.

“You don’t need these guys Hermione, you’ve got me.” He said gently.

“Nnng.” She grunted, panting as she reached back under herself to spread her lips as she focused, and suddenly, they were alone. The clones were gone.

“_You’ll do…_” she growled, a crazed, almost manic look in her wide dark eyes that almost glowed with lust, her voice raspy and hoarse.

“You know I can’t, not yet.” He said, kneeling behind her, resting a hand on her back, looking at her with equal desire, love and concern.

“Nnngh!” she whined, thrusting her hips back at him, spreading her legs.

“Uh…”

“_Don’t just stand there! FUCK ME!”_ she screamed, as tears started to fall down her face.

Harry tried to concentrate, he really did, but the captivating view of his naked girlfriend’s backside and pussy, both spread open and proudly being displayed for his viewing pleasure, had a negative impact on his capability to think properly, that, or it was the rapid loss of blood circulation to his brain that almost made him collapse as pain surged through his lower abdomen.

His trousers and boxers were suddenly very tight. _Uncomfortably_ tight.

He’d done his best to just ignore his almost constant hard-on most of the time, making sure to cast illusion and concealment charms on himself so no-one would see it while he walked around the school in tight trousers. Sure, he wasn’t ‘big’ by a major stretch, but still, he didn’t want it to be noticed. Daphne’s offer of helping him as a reward for rescuing her, which thankfully, he’d been able to get out of, hadn’t helped.

He doubted him telling her her thanks was reward enough though, but still, he’d appreciated the hug.

As he finished stripping, he noticed a small pot on the ground next to her, that he’d somehow missed when he came in. Reaching down, he dipped his finger in it.

Warm honey.

He looked back up at the rather inviting view presented to him and suddenly found himself salivating. Sure, he’d seen Hermione’s arse closeup many times this past week, but he’d rarely taken the time to just admire it.

“Stop ogling…stick it in!” Hermione growled.

Harry reached out and placed a hand on her bare left cheek. Her skin was _warm._ Warmer than it should have been. He took a moment to just admire the smooth valley between her cheeks, the ring of muscle flexing as his fingers neared it, and she pushed her hips back. Below it, her swollen lips shined with wetness.

“Hermione, I think you’re running a fever.” He said, as he crawled to her side and placed a hand against her head. Yes, she _was_ warm, warmer than she should have been in the room.

“I just need _dick._ I want _YOURS!_”

“Why were they copies of me? And why was one of them a Centaur and the other a _wolf?_” he asked as she turned and grabbed the pot of honey with one hand and his shaft with the other, pulling back his foreskin and leaning in to plant a kiss on his tip, making him shudder with need.

“No questions!” she growled, she then angled his shaft down and brought up the pot of honey, until over half of his shaft was submerged.

Then she lowered the pot and angled his hard shaft up.

Harry was about to respond but lost his train of thought as he saw the thick layer of gold liquid coating half of his length, and Hermione, a crazed, hungry look in her eyes, licked her lips, before she leaned in and started to lick his shaft, then took the glans in her mouth, before she opened her mouth and leaned in, taking in half of his length, and he tensed as she began to _suck._

“Hngh…” he grunted, and involuntarily thrust his hips forward before he could stop himself, but all she did was _moan_. The vibrations traveling along his shaft and into his crotch, as he felt her suck even harder, and he felt the muscles at the back of her mouth massage his crown as she swallowed the honey.

He knew he wouldn’t last long, both from how pent-up he was and the skill she had developed over the last week, he was ready to come after only a few minutes, though he wanted to draw it out. But his lover was determined to get her snack, and redoubled her efforts as she felt him tense, reaching up with a hand to gently hold his balls, and started to gently massage them.

Placing his hand on the back of her head, he thrust his ships several more times, grunting and moaning her name as his shaft throbbed and his semen filled her mouth, which she hungrily swallowed with an impassioned moan.

“Mmm…it is…Delicious.” She purred, delivering a gentle kiss to his tip as the last few drops emerged onto her lips, which she licked clean.

“I’m still horny though, so I’m not done with you yet.” She said, seemingly more lucid than when he’d walked in, but clearly still in the mood.

“I’m guessing I can’t…” Harry said, looking down her body, she sighed and shook her head.

“No, hopefully some time tomorrow baby. Besides, you should be getting plenty of fanny around Gryffindor anyway, I heard what you did to Parvati and Luna. Nice job.”

She then handed him the honey pot and turned her back, on her hands and knees, she thrust her hips towards him.

“Now…It’s my turn. Put that gorgeous dick, magic tongue and talented fingers to good use…” she purred.

“You know we can’t, not yet, the bond isn’t ready.”

“Then fuck my arse! I know you want to, I know you’ve been ogling it, you even gave it a kiss the other day…it felt nice…_wanna try that again? Hmm?_” she said, her tone becoming sultry as she swayed her hips invitingly. Harry sucked in a breath as he felt himself pulse with need, he was still hard, almost painfully so, and he really wanted to feed from her, needed to, as he was struggling to hide just how tired he was getting, he’d have to feed soon.

‘_Wow…she really _does_ have a nice bum.’_ He took the honey, then started to pour it over her lower back and butt, watching as it made a trail of sweet gold down over her cheeks and between them, over her winking ring, and down to her swollen lips.

Licking his lips, he leaned in.

“_§Lets see how just how good this tastess…§”_

“Ha-Harry…Wha—_EEP!_” Hermione yelped as her already lust-addled mind dissolved into bliss as pleasure she hadn’t felt for several days now exploded through her pelvis, ventured right on the edge of her labia, and slowly working up. Instinctively, she clenched her muscles, or tried to, but her body just wouldn’t respond. That wonderful _magical_ tongue just seemed to make her muscles _relax_. She let out a hoarse scream of need and pushed her hips back into his face forcefully as he went past her entrance, licking up the warm honey.

Hermione moaned and shuddered as she felt his tongue start to gently press into her, while at the same time, she felt fingers start to explore her slit.

She tried to focus, but it was difficult, her mind was filled with images of what Harry was doing to her, what she _wanted_ him to do to her, and what she’d _let_ him do, if only he had the courage to ask, or she had the presence of mind to ask him to do.

She whimpered with disappointing as she felt him withdraw, but that whimper turned into another moan as she felt something far firmer than his tongue start to gently push into her passage, filling her from both sides.

‘_That’s not…too thin and hard…are those…?’_ she tried to focus, but soon gave up and gave in, to the pure pleasure now flooding her as she felt Harry’s fingers probing deep inside her.

For his part, Harry was thoroughly enjoying himself, he had his beautiful bushy haired girlfriend on her hands and knees, mewling like a cat in heat as he thrust two fingers in and out of both her vagina and ass, alternating between matching paces and speed, to alternating ones. Both pairs of fingers in and out at the same time, or one in and one out, both slow then fast, or one fast and one slow, like he couldn’t make up his mind how he wanted to work her over.

Then, with a grin, he leaned forward and bit her left cheek, then kissed the other. His shaft was painfully hard still, and he really wished he had an extra hand free.

“Cum for me…cum for me ‘Mione.” Harry whispered, before he leaned over and started to kiss and lick the cheeks of her butt, wishing, just for a moment, that he’d conjured something to help with her clit. But he figured licking her beautiful bum, as he’d thought about doing recently, while using Parseltongue, was probably all she’d need, or be able to tolerable. Any more and her mind would probably break, which probably wouldn’t be a good thing long-term.

“Oh…oh god…oh fu—fuck me…_yes! Yes…YES! Frig me darling, suck me, fuck me!_ Oh god…so good…oh baby please! Fuck my arse, my fanny, my mouth! Anything! What ever you want darling, I’ll do anything you want, let you do anything you want, just as long as you use that magic tongue, and that gorgeous…_delicious dic—OH!_”

Harry smiled, feeling rather pleased and smug with himself as his normally prim and proper girlfriend, who was usually all about following the rules, was reduced to a gibbering moaning _shaking_ mass on his fingers as he buried the index and middle finger of each hand all the way into her body, while he sucked, licked, sucked and even _bit_ the firm flesh of her arse as she thrust wantonly, _desperately_ against his mouth and hands.

Though he wanted to feed, the position wouldn’t have been entirely optimal, and as he drew his left fingers out of her, he could see faint traces of pink on them, which was really not expertizing at all.

As he pulled his fingers out, Hermione rolled to one side, boneless and moaning as aftershocks ran through her. Her rump covered with small red marks from where he’d sucked particularly hard on them, and were those…? Yes, those were tooth marks.

‘“Best meat’s in the Rump”_…indeed.’_ he thought, but decided not to voice it.

“You OK?” he asked, wiping his fingers clean.

“Mmm…”

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

-=-

Half an hour later, the door to the Room swung open and Harry and Hermione stumbled out, freshly showered, though Harry still hadn’t fed yet, and he was starting to wonder if she’d noticed yet.

“That was…that was great Harry…thanks. Thanks for helping me, I’m feeling a lot better now, though still a little randy.” She said, winking at him.

“Yeah, anytime ‘Mione. Anytime.” He replied.

“Well, I should be done by tomorrow, so you won’t need to keep going to others from then on, and once I start producing milk, which could be any day now, or in a couple of weeks, that should hopefully that should suffice when this happens again.”

Harry raised an eyebrow, his eyes going down to her chest, as he tried to imagine what her B cups would look like swollen with milk, and tried to picture himself nursing, he honestly wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

“Guess we’ll find out soon huh?” he said. She grinned, thrusting her chest out at him.

“I know I’m not very big right now, but they should grow bigger, become at most a mid to high C cup.”

“They’re fine as they are.” He replied. She smiled at him.

“You’re really sweet Harry, but I’m not blind. I saw you ogling Susan’s boobs the other day, hell, I had a grope recently.”

“Wait—_What?!_” Harry almost choked as a picture flashed through his mind of his girlfriend gently caressing Susan’s rather ample bust popped into his head.

Hermione continued as if she hadn’t heard him. “Anyway…since I think we’re both still a little horny…I was wondering if you’d be willing to…” she trailed off, giving him a sultry look.

Harry looked around, there wasn’t anyone present, and it wasn’t quite curfew yet. He smiled at her. “Anything you want ‘Mione.”

Hermione turned her back, raised her skirt and pushed her panties down to her knees, then leans forward, arching her back and pushing her hips towards him.

“Do what you did in there…I want to feel that again.”

Harry smiled, cast a few silencing charms, then knelt behind her and took her butt in his hands and leaned in.

-=-=-=-

Aurora Sinistra slammed open the door to her private quarters, then closed it with just as much force, finally letting out the snarl of frustration and fury that had been bottled up since she’d apprehended Draco and his cronies.

She’d marched them to Dumbledore, who thankfully, had still been in his office.

She had explained the situation and demanded their expulsion, citing that they had attacked one of their own House. Dumbledore had said that, since it was a Slytherin matter, then Serverus should be present. Aurora had scoffed, saying that he _had_ been, but had apparently either been ignoring Miss Greengrass’s calls for help, or had been waiting to ambush any student to come to her rescue with a detention.

Dumbledore had had the audacity to wave her off, saying Serverus would never do such a thing. Serverus had been called in to testify, and had sworn that he’d had no knowledge of the alleged assault, and even went as far as implying that Harry had set the whole thing up to ambush Draco and his friends, which Sinistra had almost drawn her wand at.

Dumbledore had then promised that he would deal with the situation and dismissed her. She’d had to bite her tongue to stop the retort from coming. She knew that if she lashed out at him, it would cost her her job, if not her life.

Though as she left the office and headed down the stairs, she could have sworn she heard raised voices coming from within, though part of her wondered if that had just been her own mind yelling at her to go back and hang the both of them.

With a groan, she sat down at her desk, with a flick of her wand, she summoned a glass goblet, and a bottle of brandy that she used to help deal with stress when things got tough for her.

‘_Probably not the best idea to try and drown my grievances in a bottle…We need to have a staff meeting.’_

Then her thoughts turned to Harry, he’d seemed, _off._ He’d looked tired, as if he hadn’t been getting much sleep, and Hermione, the few times she’d seen the girl, at meal times and in class, had looked…_frazzled_.

She decided that she’d bring that up during the meeting, once she got one organized. The staff usually held a meeting at the end of each week, on a statuary, which was not ideal, as she wanted one that did not involve Dumbledore or Snape.

-=-=-=-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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**Author's Note:**

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